November 22, 2011 @ Aling Tonya’s Restaurant, Seaside Macapagal

This was Pinay Mommies Community second grand eyeball already, I wasn’t able to attend the first because of my delicate pregnancy back then. I promised the mommies that I’ll make sure to attend the second one

For the information of everyone, Pinay Mommies Community is a group of Filipina moms from all corners of the world sharing the same passion: blogging.

Some moms arrived as early as 10am especially the ones assigned to organize everything while others came in late, some got lost at first and some got caught in the horrible traffic jam from the airport. But at 2pm, every one was there, all too hyper and excited to start the program! Lunch was served earlier so we were so full to the brim already when the program started.

Shout out to Mommy Pehpot and her sister, Mommy Maui, Iris and Montsch for the photos! Thank you guys!

We were so many that the girls at the back already used metal step stools to be seen LOL

A lot of moms brought their kids and some dads were there too including my husband to witness the chaotic yet fun get together of blogger mommies! We don’t just write fast, but we talk faster!

It was such a momentous event because all of us, including the ones from abroad and Visayas and Mindanao really took some time off our work just to be with each other. The day was spent chatting like how we usually spend the day “talking online” so imagine the noise we’ve created haha!

I was so glad that finally, I was able to meet my online mommy friends through the Pinay Mommies Community Eyeball. Events like these should be cherished because get-togethers like this do not happen every month! Not only that, the event was made spicier by our loving and generous sponsors and TONS of freebies from fellow moms. Aylavet!

Tokens from fellow PMC mommies, yeah!

I won one gift pack from Avon Philippines, one of our minor sponsors:

My kids were the happiest with my loot! The huge Ceelin bottle is already a huge cut off our budget and the Dolan bottles too. Thank you Unilab! I was so happy with the Drypers diapers because I spend 600++ for a huge pack of Drypers medium every 15 days for my little girl’s diaper supply. Fellow moms like Nicquee, Cielo, Mauie and Iris also gave theirs to me. Thank you so much! God bless you more!

Hope you can ‘like’ the page of our generous sponsors:

• Smart Steps
• Ceelin
• Unilab
• Dolan
• Procter & Gamble
• Scotch Brite
• Geiser Maclang
• Ajinomoto
• Avon
• Ainon
• Drypers
• Krazy Pix
• PH Bakehouse

Sharing with you the cake I’ve made for the event, an order from Mommy Eihdra:

I used to have a lot of pimples. I suffered for years and my loyal knew everything I went through and every single product I used just to get rid of pimples. I tried Thanakha, which worked wonders by the way, Cetaphil, Celeteque, Ponds, a local product of mineral makeup because I thought my powder was causing the allergies, and many others.

And guess when did the pimples stop? When I got pregnant! hehe When I gave birth however it started coming out again due to stress and some other factors like hormonal changes and lack of sleep. Brought this topic to my my doctor and she advised me to use Dove Extra Sensitive bar for my skin and my daughters. Her exact words were “Try Dove and you won’t use any other soap again.” I used it immediately and saw a HUGE improvement on my skin. SHE WAS RIGHT!

Our whole family now uses Dove Extra Sensitive Bye pimples and skin irritations!

Lana’s growing up fairly well. She is now 5.02 kilos and has quite grown from birth. Medyo solid na siya ngayon She is now using a medium-sized diaper and could consume 4oz of formula aside from the breast milk that I am providing her.

At two months, she’s becoming my little mini-me: round face, chinita eyes, thin black hair and lashes that needs eyelash growth.

Her skin’s becoming fairer and fairer each day and I am so happy with that. We stopped using Lactacyd and Celeteque on her and she’s now using Dove extra sensitive and so far we are happy with the results.

At 8 weeks, this is what usually expected from a baby though I believe that babies grow in a way that’s entirely unique and individual.

Week 8
His head is still wobbly, but those neck muscles get stronger by the day. Around this age, your baby can lift his head about 45 degrees. Put him on his stomach for brief periods every day so he can practice. He may even try to do mini-pushups! Encourage him to look up by placing a mirror or dangling a toy in from of him.

I have a lot of dead blogs, some I have not visited for a year. I lost my passion in writing and perhaps I’m too busy with so many things that I no longer have time to sit and write about something.

I am trying to focus on my baking and sugar craft. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and in our crafting area aside from being a hands-on mom to my two darling daughters. And yes, I still go to suppliers for ingredients, boxes and all. That’s how hectic my everyday schedule is.

I am even planning to study culinary arts so I could put up an Institution or Cafeteria Cook Jobs, hahaha I am dreaming too big?

October 21, 2011

Got her ears pierced today! While most moms would wait until the baby is older, I chose to have her ears pierced when she still hasn’t mastered the art of scratching, pulling, grasping, etc.

My dearest OB Dra. Lucia Kalaw-Garcia did the honor as her pedia wouldn’t dare to do so LOL

Isn’t she the cutest?

Sometimes we’d get up on the wrong side of the bed. Oftentimes OTHER people would piss us very early in the morning without knowing how much they could ruin somebody’s mood. May kasabihan tayo na “Biruin mo na ang lasing, wag lang ang bagong gising”. Pero dapat, “Pestehen mo na ang lasing, wag lang ang bagong gising”. Some people are just plain walang modo or too stupid to piss people in the morning. Matatalino pa naman sana.

Oh well, it happened to me one day. That incident ruined everything for me, thanks to you and your pea-sized brain. So I left home to get a breather. Went out to get baking supplies and ingredients and met Mel, my forever and ever kumare

Mel surprised me with birthday gifts: gorgeous jewelry and blouses for me and Yona and a Pigeon bottle cleaner for Lana. Told her to venture into jewelry selling. Sayang naman ang jewelry tools niya. Here’s a photo of Yona wearing the cute blouse and the earrings and bracelet set from her.

Thank you mare for making my day

Then not.

A few days ago I noticed my little Lana being so grumpy and she would keep on crying until we gave her milk. We noticed too that she was soooo full and would just let the milk ooze from her mouth. She was full but wanted to satisfy her sucking needs. This prompted us to introduce her to a binky.

A binky is really a brand of pacifier but through the years it has become a household name for things that comfort infants or small children. Parang Colgate for toothpaste, Gasul for LPG, Xerox for photocopy machine. ganun.

Most babies her age would get pacified by a pacifier (hence the name, hello?!?!) so I expected my little daughter to have a good relationship with her new friend. “Mahihirapan kang tanggalin yan.” objected one mom, explaining that babies who are introduced early to pacifiers will have a hard time when they’ll be weaned off from it. Told them that I would cross the bridge when I get there but for now I’m getting her a damn pacifier for I NEED PEACE and SILENCE!!!!

Then the two of them met.

And had  good relationship for a good two hours.

Then my smarty pants noticed that she was not getting anything from her and spit it out.

I tried again and she spit it out again.

End of story.

Good thing I didn’t buy her a personalized one from http://www.redenvelope.com/personalized-gifts-rprsl or else I’d cry. Bye binky doo.

I was calling myself a baker until I met Top Pastry Chef Franck Geuffroy. He was just too good that I felt like a dot compared to him

Chef Franck is the training chef and consultant of Alain Ducasse Formation et Conseil.

This novice baker just got invited to a live pastry demonstration held in Enderun Colleges –  the L’art de la Patisserie (The Art of Pastry). Why would I say no to this once in a lifetime event? of course I said YES immediately Chef Franck demonstrated advanced techniques in making various pastries including the eye-catching all-edible sugar sculpture.

During the demonstration I learned that a Pastry Chef does more than just bake, he is capable of creating masterpieces. Pastries and desserts should not just be delicious, they must also be artistic, creative and pleasing to the eye.

Here are some of the traditional French pastries fusioned with local flavors giving classic pastries a Filipino twist:

Paris-Manila Brest

Paris-Manila Brest is a ring of golden brown pâte à choux pastry that sandwiches praline cream and sliced almonds. It was created in 1891 in honor of the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race.

Kouglof

Kouglof is a brioche-like coffee cake from Alsace—lightly sweet and studded with raisins.

Tropézienne

Tropézienne, from Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, is a rich orange blossom water scented brioche that oozes buttercream.

St. Honoré

St. Honoré has a base of puff pastry topped with a ring of small, caramel-drenched cream puffs; the center of the cake is filled with clouds of whipped cream.

Citrus Entremet

Citrus Entremet is a confection of coconut mousse, citrus crème, white chocolate brownie and grapefruit.

Intense Raspberry Chocolate Brownie

Intense Raspberry Chocolate Brownie a rich concoction of chocolate brownie and raspberry marmalade.

Enderun Entremet

Enderun Entremet, a playful dessert of buttery shortbread, sour calamansi, intense chocolate biscuit, gingered milk chocolate, and crunchy peanut praline.

As you would notice, Chef Franck has been using various local fruits to flavor his pastries. This is so because this chef just loves our fruits!

“The flavor of calamansi is so strong and so fresh!” he exclaims.  “It is a pure gift from nature.  And the mangos and pineapples here are so flavorful and sweet that they are so much better than what we can find in France.”  He also loves working with coconut paste, saying that the amazing taste of roasted coconut can be used to give classic French pastries a Filipino twist.

L’art de la Patisserie (The Art of Pastry) launches Enderun Colleges’ 3-month Pastry Arts Certificate, which will begin in November 2011. The comprehensive course is ideal for home cooks who want to increase their knowledge in pastry and bread-making, professionals who want to update their knowledge, and anyone considering a career in professional pastry. Students will be given hands-on instruction in basic and advanced techniques to equip them with the skills necessary for mastering French and international pastries, confectioneries, and breads. The program also gives students the opportunity to take further studies at Ecole National Supèrieure de la Pâtisserie, the pastry arts training center of Alain Ducasse Formation.

More importantly, it gives students a chance to discover if they have the passion, creativity, stamina, and skill to be a pastry chef.

For more information about this 3-month Pastry Arts Certificate, please contact:

Enderun Colleges
1100 Campus Avenue
McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio
Taguig City 1634 Philippines
Telephone: (632) 856 5000
Facsimile:   (632) 856 4656
www.enderuncolleges.com

Being born to two working parents, I always get to choose the food that I want to eat and one of my favourites is hotdogs, but it’s not just your regular hotdogs, it has to be Tender Juicy Hotdogs.

My love for Tender Juicy Hotdogs taught me one of the basic life skills: cooking. I learned to be creative with my Tender Juicy Hotdogs. I would cook it in oil, in water, in ketchup, micro waved, grilled and when I got older, I learned the art of mixing Tender Juicy Hotdogs to my favourite ulam recipes. It’s no surprise that it always comes out delectable.

Back then my mom ensured that we have stocks of TJ hotdogs on our fridge as me and my siblings would always ask for it during meal time or meryenda. My all-time favourite would always be the cocktail size! It’s small yet chunky and fits my pan de sal perfectly!

TJ Hotdogs were a staple in my lunchbox. I would bring 6 when we have cocktail sizes, 3 when we have the regular size on our fridge and 2 when we have the jumbo. That’s how much I love Tender Juicy Hotdogs!
My loyalty to Tender Juicy Hotdogs will be passed on to my kids, this I’ll ensure. In fact, I will bring the two of them to the Tender Juicy Hotdog’s National Hotdog Day, a celebration of Tender Juicy Hotdog as a heritage brand since the 80’s up to the present.

Tender Juicy Hotdog’s National Hotdog Day

The Tender Juicy Hotdog’s National Hotdog Day will be held on Sunday, October 16 from 1:00 – 6:00PM at the Music Hall of SM Mall of Asia. Everyone who participates in the game booths scattered around the area will sure win prizes. Games include hotdog eating contests, kiddie chef competitions and TJ trivia games. There would also be a photo wall that captures a decade’s worth of fun TJ hotdogs memories.

Hotdogs will be overflowing in the venue and most of all, ENTRANCE is FREE!

Like the Tender Juicy Hotdog page on Facebook to get more updates!

Happy 1st month Irina Mirabella!

At 1 month, Lana…

• gained 2.14 pounds
• consumed 200++ diapers
• consumed 2 cans of Similac
• consumed gallons of breast milk
• she sleeps when there is music or noise

Until now she’s still in graveyard shift, meaning, she is asleep in the morning and awake at night time. =) I finally decided to go mixed feeding for my milk supply is very insufficient  Like most newborns, she loves to be touched and carried. She’s now ready to be placed in a crib, we’re just fixing her ate’s crib as it needs new paint. We decided against putting a mattress on a crib because of what we have read on Wikipedia. Parents were cautioned about leaving babies and toddlers in a crib with memory foam mattress as they will find it difficult to turn and rotate and may suffocate.

diaper change with mommy

with Nanay Girlie

We celebrated her 1st month yesterday with a fondant cake from, where else, PH Bakehouse! pansit and lechon manok Will post photos tonight

Happy 1st month my sweet child! We love you so much!