The Twerp & I

Mother’s Day with the Twerp

Written By: Jellybelly - May• 14•13

Not that we really celebrate Mother’s Day. Even when I was a kid, we never did…really. What we did was make breakfast together. I was watching this video lecture from my coursera.org course in child nutrition when Via sat on my lap and watched it with me. She was interested especially when the video showed the mommy and a baby making breakfast together. I think it was called Egg in a Hole. She said, “Mommy, let’s make this for breakfast.” And so we did on Mother’s Day.

What you need:

Big, thick bread

1 egg

Butter

Salt and pepper to taste

The how:

Cut a hole in the middle of the bread big enough for the egg to fit in. Heat up 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan. Add the bread. Break the egg in the bread hole. Wait until the egg solidifies a bit then turn it over. Once the egg is dry, remove from the pan. Enjoy with your little one.

After our breakfast, we got ready to go to my nephew’s baptism where we reconnected with family. We mostly see them on occasions like this. I should really make an effort to see them more. Via enjoyed it well enough. Our relatives marveled at how unlike me she is. I was a painfully shy kid who stayed in one corner and prayed nobody would notice me or talk to me. Via, on the other hand, was dancing all over the place and talked to everyone who said hello to her. I say it’s good for her.

When we went home, Via wanted to go biking which we did. After biking, she wanted to go swimming and we did. We had a full day and went to bed early, tired but happy.

Posted in Family, Parenting, The Twerp, Working Mom | 23 Comments »

Summer Camp!

Written By: Jellybelly - May• 11•13

This is Via’s second summer camp. She knew what to expect and was excited for days before the camp weekend which was held at La Vista Resort in Pansol, Laguna. It’s a summer camp organized by our church. Last year, there were only 3 from Via’s Sabbath School class (3-5 year olds) and they were the youngest to join. These three became fast friends and became inseparable after the summer camp. This year, there were two others from their Sabbath School class. That makes 5 littlest ones which made it more enjoyable for them since the bigger kids don’t really play with the little ones too much.

There were a lot of fun craft activities, bible lessons and games that included parents. We won the game that involved all participants getting on a piece of newspaper that got smaller and smaller. It was a Mommies and daughters team. We won because we could carry our little kids on our backs and shoulders unlike the teams with older kids.

After the camp activities were done, kids were allowed to go swimming, visit the zoo and the playground. Via couldn’t get enough of the playground especially because it had a castle where she pretended to be Rapunzel.

It was a great weekend for us and we will surely join next year.

Posted in Family, Preschool, The Twerp, Vacation and Travel, Working Mom | 20 Comments »

The Malayan Plaza

Written By: Jellybelly - May• 06•13

So every year on Good Friday, our building does maintenance on the generators. I don’t know why electricity has to be off but it’s off from 9 am till late afternoon. Basically all day. The first year we were there, we endured it. Woke up with the lights off. We got dressed up quickly and walked down 32 flights of stairs. Easy peasy We stayed in McDonald’s till after lunch then moved to the park until we judged it time to go back.

Every year we prepare for it. Where to spend the day, because it’s Good Friday. Everything is closed. There’s nowhere to go.

This year I decided to do a staycation in an affordable hotel. Luckily there were so many Lenten Specials. The cheapest was at the Malayan Plaza Hotel at P2,500 a night and that includes buffet breakfast for two. That’s where we stayed. It’s more like a condotel than a hotel. There’s a kitchenette with pots and pans and plates, etc.

We went night swimming in the pool, watched TV. Next day after breakfast, we spent the morning in the kid’s playroom where Via enjoyed playing. I asked for late check out and we checked out at 2pm. Great timing! Electricity at home was back on. Perfect!

Posted in Family, Vacation and Travel | 35 Comments »

Madeca at The Podium

Written By: Jellybelly - Apr• 30•13

New find Mexican food with a Filipino Twist. Madeca at the Podium serves popular mexican food like Burritos and Quesadillas. I’m not that fond of Mexican food because I find beans in almost every dish. I hate beans! However, I love burritos and quesadillas. Their Burrito is supposed to be really good. It’s #5 on the best burritos list. They have sisig burritos, adobo burrito, etc. So good!

My friend Bex loved the glasses, or are those jars, that the iced teas came in. She asked the waiter where the restaurant got the glasses. The waiter said it was ordered from the US. Oh okay.

Iced Tea (40)

Lechon Kawali Mexicanin (p265)

Sisig Burrito (P225)

Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas (P125)

Salpicao Mexikanin (P275)

My friend Reena ordered Chicken Soft Tacos (P165) which I forgot to take a photo of because I was already eating. Nothing can distract me when I’m eating. I had the Salpicao Mexikanin and it’s super sarrraaaap! We are definitely going back there.

If you’re ever in Ortigas, try Madeca, 5th floor, Podium.

Posted in Food, Working Mom | 27 Comments »

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Written By: Jellybelly - Apr• 22•13

It was a TV show in the 90s hosted by Bill Cosby. I found the kids really cute and funny. Now that I have a kid of my own, I’m having fun with the things she says. I’m thinking ahead to when my daughter will ask me difficult questions about sex and babies. That came sooner than I thought.

She asked me one day, where did babies come from?. I thought of my answer for a few seconds before saying that babies grow in their mommies tummies. I showed her pictures of me when I was pregnant and the video of the 3D ultrasound when I was about 6 months pregnant. Then I showed her pictures of us right after she was born and a video of her being wheeled out of the operating room where Daddy was waiting to see her. Fortunately for me that satisfied her and she didn’t ask how she got into my tummy.

Next not so difficult question was when she saw a wedding photo of Mommy and Daddy. She asked where she was and I said she wasn’t born yet. Why did you get married with my Daddy? Hmmm I said mommies and daddies are usually married before they have babies. There are times that they are not though because of many different reasons.

The most recent one, just last week, was who will marry me when I’m big? This made me stop and think hard. She’s only four. Where did this question come from? I said not to worry about that yet because she will not get married until she’s 35. Enjoy meeting and getting to know different people as she grows up. There will be bad people and good people. When it’s time to marry choose a good person who loves God and is humble and kind. Somebody like Daddy. But not before you’re 35! Haha!

I think the way to handle these questions is like applying for a US visa. Just answer the question and don’t volunteer information

Posted in Family, Preschool, The Twerp, Working Mom | 39 Comments »

Finally Won Something

Written By: Jellybelly - Apr• 21•13

Been a member of our cooperative since I joined this company 14 years ago. Our cooperative has a general assembly with program and raffle prizes every year. I’ve never been lucky enough to win anything. Oh wait! I won a foldable box to organize abubut.

This year was no different. There was food. Program with kids of staff singing and dancing. I did not let Via join because I thought she was too young. She can’t hold a tune nor dance very well. Bad Mommy! She looked longingly at the stage that next year if they ask kids to join, I’ll volunteer her. Never mind if she’s out of tune

We stayed till the very end because of the raffle. They have really nice prizes. Last time the grand prize was a laptop. This year’s grand prize was an LCD TV. I won 3rd prize, a Seagate 500 GB external drive. Yippeee!

Too bad I already bought a 1TB external drive last December but that’s okay. Can’t have too many of these in this age of digital photos and downloadable movies

Posted in Working Mom | 18 Comments »

Summer Activities for Children

Written By: Jellybelly - Apr• 15•13

It’s summer once again and I’m wracking my brain for fun learning activities for the Twerp. Last year, I enrolled her for the summer program at her preschool. Sort of like a trial. It was for 5 weeks at P7,500. Very reasonable because it’s 3 hours everyday, Monday to Friday.

This summer, I want something different for her because she already enrolled in preschool last year following that summer trial. I hope to find something she would enjoy and very near our place. Some activities I’m considering:

Ballet Class: Halili Ballet School, P7,500 plus 2,500 for outfit.
Swimming Lessons: Bert Lozada Swim School, P4,000/10 sessions
Arts and Crafts at Sabbath School
Crew at Friday’s: P1,000 3 days or was it 4….. inclusive of food and T-shirt
Music Lessons (voice, musical instruments) being offered at Sabbath School

She’s already bored this summer and keeps asking if it’s still vacation and why it’s taking so long. I’m happy she likes school though.

Posted in Parenting, Philippine Life, Preschool, The Twerp | 35 Comments »

Condo Furnishing

Written By: Jellybelly - Apr• 11•13

I’ve been looking through books on small space living lately. I moved into a condo a few years back intending it to be temporary. So I never gave a thought on furnishing it. Now I realize I’ve been in this “temporary” place for six years now. How time flies and I did not even notice.

Before I had a child, I was very particular with plates, beddings, home furnishings. Now, I don’t care anymore. It just doesn’t seem to be as important as I used to think it was. Our place has crayon drawings on the walls and is always messy. We don’t have place mats when we eat. Our home is furnished very sparingly. Coffee table, small dining table and an old TV is all we have in the dining/living area. The bedroom of course has the bed and an L-shaped work table where the laptop is. I used to call it “my portable life.” I can just up and leave without having to worry about disposing of things.

Now I feel that I should at least have some furniture to make our place comfortable especially when we have guests. I like the pieces this website HomeQ has. Modern but not too modern that it’s weird. Visit their website to read more if you’re furniture hunting like me. What I’m looking for right now is a sofa and chairs for our small table. The table only had 2 chairs that came with it when I bought it and they’re broken. I like these pieces for now.

I hope our place looks presentable soon

Posted in Health, Living Well, Philippine Life, Working Mom | 13 Comments »

Station of the Cross at BGC

Written By: Jellybelly - Mar• 30•13

Our Pastor brought our small bible study group to BGC on Maundy Thursday for the Station of the Cross. I didn’t know they had this every year. He said he’s been going every year now for five years. It was interactive with very station having some sort of activity that made it interesting. The huge crowd, with much picture taking, was distracting although we were also guilty with picture taking. I wanted a record of that day so Via can look back on it later and I’ll explain it what it was all about. At her age now, she couldn’t grasp the significance of it yet. I think we’ll make this a yearly thing from now on.

Cooling down at the fountains was the highlight for Via. I don’t know how long she was there but it was already dark when we left and she was still there. She had no change of clothes so we just hurried home with our soaking wet down to her panties preschooler.

Posted in Family, Parenting, Philippine Life, Preschool | 12 Comments »

Condo or House and Lot?

Written By: Jellybelly - Mar• 29•13

I grew up in a house with a lot of space to play. Our house itself was small and sat on one corner of the lot. The rest was full of trees and plants and grass. Our cat loved it. When I married, my Mom and I moved in my husband’s house. It was a huge old house with space all around. I would like to have my own house with a courtyard someday. That is my dream house, very much like louisville homes.

Photo from Wikipedia

My life today though is much different from my childhood or even when I first got married. I live in a condo with a very small floor area and not much space to move around. I feel cooped up in a cage sometimes. It was a huge adjustment for me. I could not sleep on my first night. I have since adjusted and learned to love condo living for its convenience and security. Still, I long for my dream house.

Right now I’m doing my research, looking at what’s available in the market now. If I want to live near the center of the city, then it would have to be a condo. It good to check websites like LouisvilleHomesFast updates to see my options. If I want a house, then it would have to be outside the city. I have to weigh the pros and cons but ultimately, it will depend on where the Twerp will go to school.

Posted in Philippine Life | 13 Comments »

1 2 3 4 5 >>

The Twerp & I

Mother’s Day with the Twerp

Summer Camp!

The Malayan Plaza

Madeca at The Podium

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Finally Won Something

Summer Activities for Children

Condo Furnishing

Station of the Cross at BGC

Condo or House and Lot?

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