Friends on the Island

I can't believe it's the last day of August! This month has been a busy one, even busier than the beginning of the year! Let's see, last Aug. 3-4 we went to a friend's place in Cavinti, Laguna. It was a wonderful getaway experience for the kids and us parents as we spent two days with some of our closest friends. Not to mention, the house was beautiful, but what captured us the most, was the surroundings. It's an island on a lake in the mountain! We want to visit again next year.

Having a picnic with our "conjugal" friends several years ago at the UP Sunken Garden

And 8 or 9 years after, this is us still loving al fresco dining.

More photos:

Pardon my really messy look. We were really having fun in the hammock here.

The island isn't connected to the grid so most of the day, we hangout on the mats laid outdoors and overlooking the lake.

We assigned each couple to prepare at least one meal during our stay. I was mixing the batter here for the fish fillet and calamares we had for dinner on Saturday.

We were so hungry that I didn't get to take a picture of what I prepared that dinner: Beef stew, bean salad, calamares, and fried asuhos in batter. But one of our friends took this photo of our lunch by the lake. Make your own burgers. I'm drooling just thinking of how delicious our meals were on the island.

Choose Your Own Adventure Burger, and Beer.

For more spectacular photos on the place, go to this website: http://sundangisland.com/

iPad Mini: The Pros and Cons

A year ago, I was against the use of any hi-tech handheld devices by my toddler. We bought and were gifted several educational toys from Leap Frog and Vtech that we were quite happy about. That was until I owned an iPhone and started working from home. I remember purchasing an iPhone 4S days after I learned that I would be working from home. I calculated the savings from not having to spend on taxi fares and unplanned lunch-outs. I also thought that working from home will be quite boring (I was so wrong about this) and I needed something to occupy myself with especially while I breastfeed. Well, the iPhone turned out to be very useful and entertaining not just to me but to the whole family as well. My husband and I were so happy with this purchase that after several months of weighing the pros and cons, we got an iPad mini as well (and my husband got an iPhone 5).

The day that changed our lives forever. :)

Why iPad mini? For first time owners of a tablet, the size of the mini was not too overwhelming. We do not have any issues whatsoever of where to keep it as it fits perfectly well in our black leather bag that we bring whenever we go out. The price of the mini was also quite reasonable at Php 15,999. As a matter of fact, with all the awesome apps you can get for free (or purchase as low as .99 $ /less than 50 pesos), I think its a bit underpriced (I hope Apple doesn't raise the price, though). Most of all, it has all the features of the new iPad (as of February 2013). We love the iPad mini and the only cons I could think of would be the same as the disadvantages of owning any tablet device, I guess.

When we only had the back cover and
didn't have a proper case yet,
we used a cloth book cover to wrap
 the iPad inside our bag.

As parents, we are worried that prolonged usage of the device (iPad mini or not) is very bad for his eyesight. We adjust the settings to the dimmest lighting as we have noticed that the brightest setting hurt even our own eyes. I also read somewhere that usage of electronic devices before bedtime results to disrupted sleeping so we make sure that Inigo is not on the iPad two hours before bedtime. They also say its bad for the kids' imagination. I feel really guilty about this bit that's why I make sure we have art activities, outdoor time, and do some cooking and baking from time to time.

The immersion of the iPad mini with his playthings.

It also turns out that having an iPad is beneficial to us since we don't have househelp and yaya. I am grateful actually that we are able to afford an iPad and purchase some educational apps that keep him busy for half an hour or so and that I can prepare breakfast and cook lunch without having to rely on my husband to look after our son while I'm in the kitchen. On occasions that the little one gets really drawn on new apps, I am able to finish my work and even have some time to blog (like right now). Maybe next time, I'll wite about some really cool apps that even my husband and I enjoy!

Iñigo's 3rd Birthday Part 2

The next day we woke up early. We lit up a candle and sang him a birthday song. Yes, the three of us were happy to welcome his birthday! As mentioned before, we chose not to have a party this year and opted to have this staycation instead. I think we enjoyed this quiet time away from the busy Malate.

From L-R - 1,2,3 The three of us enjoying the room and taking turns on the phone camera. 4. After the early morning swim, he got hungry and shouted, "Fruit cup!!!" because that's what he normally eats first for breakfast and because he's the son of his dad (mainit ulo pag gutom, haha!)

As soon as John Paul got back from his run, we headed to the breakfast buffet. I loved the various options, pastries, congee, rice, pancakes, etc. I think I tried them all! The two boys enjoyed their breakfasts too.

See the smile on our faces? We were super satisfied with our brunch.

We were to meet my HS friends (Iñigo's ninangs, too) for a late lunch in Tagaytay. Another present to the little one on his birthday was to see the "volcano" and his godsiblings? He was excited. We arrived at cliffhouse a little before 2pm. We went to our favorite viewing deck there: The Cliffhouse and dined at Buon Giorno. Good thing we arrived after lunch when most of the dining guests have finished eating. We got the best seats in the house. We ordered the usual pasta & pizzas for everyone to enjoy. We had fun, I guess, and even stayed for coffee and more chikas. The little one got to blow another cake, this time panna cota. Thanks to Buon Giorno for this gesture. 

Happy Birthday, little one! I hope you enjoyed your staycation and volcano surprises! :)

We had one more celebration with his cousins the following weekend. But i'll blog about that next time. 

Iñigo's 3rd Birthday

The day started early as I had to hand-mix the cupcake batter and this:

Hand-mixed cream cheese frosting

We had the usual chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for the birthday boy's cupcake tower. It turns out that after more than a year of baking at home, I still have a lot of baking skills to improve on. Some noteworthy points for myself 1) The cupcakes were too big for my box because i used the foil baking cups instead of the paper ones 2) some had "fallen" centers probably because i did not set the temperature right 3) i did not use a tip to frost the cupcakes,hence, the lousy outcome. I was not satisfied with my cupcakes and was a tad disappointed that these mistakes had to happen on little one's birthday. I was already thinking of buying a cake but by noon time, I was more relaxed and decided on bringing them. After all, they were baked with love. :)

We dropped by the mall first to have lunch at Italianni's. We had the farmer's bunch and we didn't expect it to be such a feast! There were chicken, ribs, and pasta. And bread! Don't you just love the complimentary bread dipped in vinaigrette in Italianni's? After lunch and a few errands, we head off to Bellevue Hotel in Alabang. We chose this hotel because 1) we rarely visit the south area; and 2) at less than 4k per night (promo on dealgrocer.com) who wouldn't be tempted to spend a staycation there? The hotel has the complete amenities we were looking for: 1) a king sized bed, 2) a tub in the room, 3) a kiddie pool, and 4) gym. A playground would have been nice but our room served this purpose anyway. A big plus for me were the toiletries though. They were imported from Australia and smelled divine.

Kudos Spa toiletries

One of the first things we did upon checking-in was, of course, get in the tub. I let the little one enjoy it until his hands got wrinkly and his lips turn purplish. After the bath, I proceeded with decorating our room. With the little time in my hands, this is what my husband and I came up with:

Birthday decorations  and cupcake tower in the room

For dinner, we ordered fast food. We slept beside the decorations and cupcakes as his actual birthday was the next morning. TBC...

A Challenge to Breastfeeding Moms

Breastfeeding a toddler comes with several challenges. I thought I've overcome them all, including the physically excruciating ones and the subtle reminders of my own mother that will make you think twice if you're still doing the right thing. But there will always be people who will let you down once in a while and make you feel so insecure. And no matter how much you explain to them, they will never get your point. These are the same people that make you want to just lie and keep things secret from them.

My decision to breastfeed up to toddler hood is a product of informed parenting. It was also a choice that my husband and I both agreed on. So I think I have a valid reason to get pissed when someone criticizes how I raise and feed my child.  To all the mothers out there who breastfeed their toddlers, please be strong and be warned that we will be put down a lot of times because our kids may be skinnier and shorter than other kids. Deep in your hearts please be assured that they are ok. And as long as they don't get sick, there's no need to be alarmed. They are growing, and as parents, we should be fine with that.

Left: 3 years old, Right: 2 years old. He GREW!

Counting to Three

How time flies. Our little boy will be turning three this weekend. We're keeping it simple. No parties, no big and noisy gatherings. It's going to be pure loving with lots of fun (and cuddling).

Pain Pain Go Away

We have been through some physical pains today. I have impacted molars and one of them had inflamed gums around it. Eating is quite a challenge and yawning is excruciating. Meanwhile, my little boy has just recovered from a two-day fever. We had a busy weekend and I suppose the fever was his body's way of telling us he's tired. This morning was different though, he was overflowing with energy and had few minor injuries: 1) He asked for cold water and when I tried to convince him to drink warm water instead, he started wailing and running around the room and didn't stop until he crashed his forehead on the wall. I just had to give him cold water after that. 2) While watching TV he got so excited that he fell off the bed, with his face hitting the floor first. 3) I had to take him downstairs to have some snacks because he was already getting cranky. He stood up on the chair and after a few minutes, he lost his balance and fell, with his chin hitting the table. He cried a lot and wont let me put ice on his lip. He got a small scratch on his chin. 

Perhaps we all have to experience pain once in a while to make us appreciate the normality of things. I hope all will be better tomorrow. G'night!