Louiji turned 20 months old last September 14 and it felt really special because it coincided with our first ever out-of-the-country family vacation 🙂 These are two milestones that we are so blessed to have achieved. Our trip to Japan is one of our faith goals for 2014 and we have been praying for it for the longest time. On the other hand, Louiji’s monthsaries are events that we always look forward to each month.

As parents, we are very happy to have witnessed the following:

• Louiji knew when a book is upside down. One time, he flipped a book in its proper orientation before he gave it to me and asked me to read it to him.

• Louiji began to love dancing. Before, he would only dance while watching his favorite TV shows and movies and whenever we sing to him. Now, seeing an object that would remind him of those tunes will make him turn round and round and dance with his arms.

• Louiji loved eating Daddy’s pork belly and baguio beans recipe. My husband was so happy to see that all his efforts from slaving in the kitchen that day was highly appreciated by our little prince.

• Louiji ate his very first French toast. It’s that one breakfast recipe that I’m willing to cook and eat each morning.

• Whenever we go to the bathroom to wash his bum after he does a # 2, I would ask, “O Louiji, pano pwesto natin pag wash ng petpet?” He would get into position right away! That task used to be a struggle for both of us and it made my back hurt. So happy and proud that my toddler and I have finally gotten over that challenge!

• Our baby boy ate my first beef and brocolli! It was worth the hours of cooking the beef until it’s very tender for Louiji to eat.

• Louiji has fewer tantrums and he now knows how to obey Mommy! Praise God!!!

• Louiji’s anxiety towards other people has decreased significantly. He has become comfortable hugging and kissing our relatives from my husband’s side of the family and even our friends from church!

• Louiji was able to recognize little details on his books. In his “Nighty Night” book, he was able to notice that Cookie Monster had his hands together as if he was praying. Louiji pointed that out and imitated it. On his book, “We Love Greendale”, he pointed at the tiny cows. I then said, “The cow says mooo” repeatedly. After a while, he made the same sound! Also, in the book “I Am a Monster”, he imitated me when I acted out “I am strong” and he insisted that we do it again and again 🙂

• I forgot to note in the last couple of months that Louiji calls out to all animals that he would see whether alive, in pictures or as toys. He would stretch out his right hand and twist his thumb with his pointer and middle finger to call on that animal.

• Whenever I would sing the song “Here I am to Worship”, Louiji would automatically raise his hand when he hears the word “worship.”

• Louiji recognizes the photo of a duck in his photo album, points at it and makes sounds that sound like “duck, duck, duck” or a quacking sound. On the same page, he would point at the ball repeatedly and he would stretch out his arms as if he is about to catch a ball.

I am excited to see our little boy’s milestones for this month! I’m sure that God will surprise us in the best way with more progress in our son’s  learning and development 🙂

For this season of my Kitchen Adventures, I now bring you my own version of Beef and Broccoli!

The photo doesn’t look nice but this Beef and Broccoli really tastes good 😉

Judge not, peeps! Judge not the photo! I know that I still have a lot to learn when it comes to food photography. Time will come when my photos will look more appealing. For now, let’s settle with a decent-looking food photo 😉

The first time that I tasted this dish was at my parents’ house. I didn’t like it back then because I am not a fan of broccoli. The main reason why I included this dish in last week’s menu was because I wanted Louiji to be more acquainted with this veggie. I was so happy and proud that he liked it the first time he ate it at a cousin’s wedding. And so, when I have found a reasonably priced broccoli and beef at the supermarket, I thought of cooking it for my boys. I did not looked for a recipe nor asked my Dad for help (he was the one who cooked it at home). I just had a memory of what it tastes like and so that’s where I began. The following are the list of ingredients and the process by which I prepared and cooked my version of Beef and Broccoli.

Ingredients:

• ¼ kilo of beef, cut into bite-sized strips
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 3 pcs of calamansi
• Garlic, crushed
• Onions, minced
• Broccoli (small bundle), cut into smaller portions
• 2 tbsp butter
• A dash of pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp brown sugar*

Steps:

1. Marinate beef in soy sauce and calamansi for at least an hour.
2. Place the marinated beef with its marinade in a pot with just enough water to cover the meat. Braise it for 2 hours or until tender. You may braise the beef for less time if you will use a pressure cooker.
3. Add onions and garlic.
4. As soon as the beef is tender, remove the pot from heat.
5. Heat the wok. Add butter and saute broccoli.
6. Add in the braised beef and stir fry with the broccoli.
7. Add in ¼ cup of soy sauce** and ¼ cup of water.
8. Simmer for 5 minutes.
9. Add in brown sugar and simmer for a few more minutes.
10. Serve hot.

* I used 3 tbsp of brown sugar for this recipe because I find our broccoli a bit bitter. The result is that my dish tasted a bit like asado sauce. You may adjust the amount of sugar that you will add in depending on your taste preference.

** Again, this is about preferences. Add in the soy sauce gradually and taste what you’re cooking to adjust accordingly.

The end result? My husband was raving about my new recipe! This was a successful Kitchen Adventure! What made me happier was that our little one loved everything in it that he ate a lot. I was so glad that all of my efforts in preparing and cooking this dish paid off.

‘Til my next Kitchen Adventure! 🙂

Now that I have finished all my deliverables to the client, I can now concentrate on packing for our Japan trip.  I’m so excited!! I actually look forward to this part of the trip. Sorry if I sound weird. But, I know there are some people who are thrilled with filling their suitcase with everything that they need for the trip. I know because I have read about it while searching for tips and tricks on what and how to pack especially now that we will be traveling with our little one. I have actually curated pins from Pinterest and put them all under the board titled Travelling with Baby.

If you would go over my pins on that board, you would notice that I have made it into a hodgepodge of pins about packing tricks, tips on flying with a baby and what to bring for a day trip on Disney World. The last part was actually our main agenda for our Japan trip and an item on our Bucket List 🙂

Bye for now! Must go packing!

We just had the happiest news last Sunday. We are now eligible to travel to Japan!!! Wooohoooo!!! I was actually nervous and my hands were shaking a bit when I received our passports from the Japanese man at the travel agency. My husband, who was standing by the doorway at that time, said that he was waiting with bated breath for the outcome of our visa application. We both smiled widely when the Japanese showed me our passports and told me that all of us were granted with Japan visa! My husband and I were both giggling in excitement on our way out. Our Japan trip will really push through!

I’ve been doing a lot of preparations for our first ever out-of-the-country vacation. I’ve been saving up for this trip back when it was just a dream. I even made a washi savings jar to save up for our travel fund. The jar was labelled HK because the original plan was to go to Hongkong so we can take Louiji to Disneyland. Plans changed when my husband’s brother invited us to go visit him in Japan. We thought that since there is also a Disneyland in Tokyo, why not go there instead? That way, we get to fulfill our dream of having Louiji meet his favorite Disney character,  Mickey Mouse, and visit my brothers-in-law at the same time.

While we were still completing the requirements for the Japan visa, I have already started making a list of what to bring for the trip. To make it easier for me to identify what to pack, I have listed stuff according to categories, used colored papers and taped them on the wall. I’ve been adding items to these lists every time I remember something. Seeing the list everyday will not only remind me of what to bring but it also helps me to formulate some sort of a strategy in terms of packing and making our load lighter. I need to take that into consideration because after our 4-hour flight, we will be taking a 90-minute train ride to my BIL’s place. That wouldn’t be fun if we are lugging heavy suitcases and an equally tired toddler.

Since the Japanese people are very much into their own language and we were told that few of them can understand and speak English, I have decided we need to learn how to speak their language even in a very basic and conversational manner. It’s a good thing that I have found *Bravolol from  the App Store. This is one, incredible app! It has different categories for any type of conversation that you would like to have. Go download it for yourself so you would know how amazing that app is. I hope that by the time we are in the Land of the Rising Sun, I get to speak with the locals using what I’ve learned from the Greetings and Shopping sections of the app 🙂

Learn to speak the Japanese language with Bravolol

Sayoonara! I need to go back with the preps! 🙂

Learn Japanese Free – Phrases & Vocabulary for Travel, Study & Live in Japan – Bravolol Limited

Hooray for today! Our baby boy just turned 19 months old today. He is recovering from cough and colds, the virus that is so common these days that it has affected almost everyone in the family (including that of my parents). It’s a good thing that he didn’t get any fever and though his appetite is not as good as it was before he got sick, he still feeds voraciously on my breastmilk. I am super blessed that I can still breastfeed my baby at this time!

As always, I have recorded his breakthroughs from the days leading to his 19th month. They are as follows:

• This is a very notable breakthrough for Louiji. He usually felt uneasy with his grandparents from his father’s side. But, when my in-laws came and stayed at our house for a day and we were with them all the way to Tagaytay and back, he became more comfortable with his grandparents around. He didn’t cry that much. In fact, he smiled more. He even played peek-a-boo with his grandpa.

• Louiji didn’t cry when relatives at wedding of my husband’s cousin greeted him. He willingly took the hand of every lolo, lola, tito, and tita who came by to say hi. He even had high fives with some of them. What a sociable baby!

• At the same wedding, Louiji ate a lot of healthy foods but I also gave him a few pieces of nachos. He also had his first brocolli that day 🙂

• Louiji keeps on rocking the Lettersaurus as if he wants to put it to sleep.

• While we were having Facetime with his Ninong Dave, Louiji kissed the iPad when Ninong’s face appeared closer on screen to say goodbye.

• Louiji shakes his head and makes appropriate gestures (the ones that we have taught him) when I recite the contents of his favorite book titled, “Do Donkeys Dance?” He does these even in the absence of the book!

• Louiji was able to take away malunggay leaves from the stalk. According to Tanang, he was able to produce 5 whole leaves! Good practice for his fine motor skills!

I’m so happy with my son’s accomplishments in every aspect of his development. He is becoming more and more mobile and independent as he grows and my husband and I need to keep up with him and do more babyproofing in our home. I also pray that God will grant us more patience, grace and wisdom as we strive to be the best parents to our dear Louiji.

I’ve been using MunchPunch for as long as I can remember. I’ve been using it to check out the menu of a restaurant that I’d like to dine in to, know about the price range of items in a menu, get a restaurant’s or a food shop’s contact number, and find out which dining establishments are located in my preferred area. I have shared MunchPunch pages to friends and family a lot of times to recommend a number of restaurants that are worth checking out. This is how dependent (in a good way 🙂 ) I have become to MunchPunch! I have checked out other food menu guides but they are no match for MunchPunch! 🙂

When a chance came for me to avail of the free MunchPunch VIP membership for an extended amount of time, I grabbed the opportunity immediately. I so love freebies and I like sharing them with my loved ones. Anyone can be a VIP Member of MunchPunch. Here are the easy peasy steps:

1. Go to www.munchpunch.com and start with the registration through the Start my VIP Membership button. Follow the related steps.

2. Browse through the VIP menu from various restaurants and take your pick.

Isn’t that simple? Go ahead and experience being a VIP 😉

Take note that VIP items are available for a limited time only. Our favorite food spots feature other items from their menu after a few days.

From the wee hours of the morning up to 10 AM today, Typhoon Glenda (Rammasun) has bombarded Metro Manila with horrifying winds that made me feel I was in the setting of a horror movie. The strong winds was accompanied by non-stop rains. The power went out at around 2AM.

Early this morning, at the peak of Glenda’s wrath, I have closed the last two windows in the house which I have left open yesterday to let some air in. They kept on banging on the window frame and I fear that they might either shatter into pieces or wake up my sleeping baby. I actually I feared the latter because I don’t think I can carry my baby and put him back to sleep. I barely had forty winks and my hands were aching because I was fanning him the whole night to make him feel comfortable despite the very stormy weather and the absence of a working electric fan. I was so glad that he was able to sleep up until around 9:30 AM with air from Mommy’s makeshift fan and breastfeeding in between.

While my baby was asleep, my husband and I were mopping the pool of water that surprisingly surfaced in the floors of our bedroom, in the hallway and in the living room. We also had to put rugs under the main door and on the one leading to the terrace to keep rain water from flowing inside the house which was not quite effective since the water came through anyway. He went outside to the garage and found out that the cover of our washing machine was blown away and was dripping wet leaving our poor machine drenched in the rain. Our downspout also got misaligned and a portion of our roof was torn away. Holes on the ceiling in the living room near my desk gave away and drips of dirty water were coming from them.

Clockwise from top: The hole in the ceiling at the living room started with just one. Now they are three. Water beneath our bed. Puddle in the hallway.

My parents’ house were severely damaged by this nasty typhoon. Water was all over the house. The tarp covers in the garage and in the garden were torn. The little cottage right outside the house was all wet. Part of the roof in the laundry area gave way, too.

I couldn’t imagine how the homes in the Visayas have survived. They were the ones who have been hit first by this typhoon. I just hope that everyone was safe and was able to get through all of these.

It hasn’t rained since lunch time but the sky is still dark and it’s a bit cold. Our neighbours were able to go out and clean up the mess that the typhoon has brought about. Our energy provider has just issued an advisory indicating that they are assessing the extent of damage on the facilities and that they are doing their best to restore power as soon as possible.

I just hope that tomorrow will be better. The sun will be shining again. Power will be restored. Everything will be in its proper place again.

The long pause is very evident by now. I have not blogged since mid-May because of my full plate. The time that I would have spent for writing all went to doing the chores, taking care of the baby, studying for my new job (Yes, I’m a WAHM now!) or getting that much needed shuteye.

A couple of days ago, I have made a resolve to squeeze in time for blogging. I reminded myself of why I started this blog in the first place and why I should keep on going.

I have tons to share with you but I don’t think that I could write about them asap. Here’s a list of what I should have blogged about and hopefully, publish soon:

• Louiji’s 16th Monthsary
• Louiji’s 17th Monthsary (Yes, shame on me! Two months have passed and I have not written about my baby’s milestones 🙁 )
• Father’s Day
• Being a WAHM
• Finding a (New) Pediatrician
• Kitchen Adventures

Quite a lot, noh? I need plenty of prayers, very strong discipline and better time management. I can do this!!!

I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. – Philippians 4:13

I love eating. So, I love cooking and baking! But cooking and baking don’t love me as much as I love them. Hence, my Kitchen Adventures!!!! 🙂

Kitchen Adventures will be a regular in my blog. It is where I will chronicle my triumphs and struggles in whipping up gastronomic edibles. Hopefully, I can post more of the former than the latter. I’d love to hear sincere “Masarap, Hon!” (It’s delicious, Hon!) comments from The Husband rather than “At least, naluto siya!” (At least, it’s cooked!) from him. Over the year, my KitchenAdventures will also show how my kitchen prowess will progress.

Care to join me in my adventure?

Hey there Mommies! I hope you had an awesome and well-spent Mother’s Day. I just did 🙂 I was even given the privilege to join the Mother’s Day Baking Class at The Maya Kitchen in Makati last May 10. I have learned how to make Egg Tarts, Red Velvet Cakes and Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Cupcakes. Just typing all of these recipes make my mouth water!

It was my first ever baking class and I was so thrilled to be taught by the seasoned chefs of a very established and most famous culinary school here in the Philippines. Chef Elvie Ibale, one of the teacher chefs at The Maya Kitchen, demonstrated to our small group of 8 baking enthusiasts how each delicacy is made from scratch. The star of each recipe is their very own MAYA All-Purpose Flour. For the cupcakes, the MAYA Fudge Brownie Mix was used in addition to the all-purpose flour. Chef Rory Subida, Culinary Directress and Manager of The Maya Kitchen Culinary Arts Center Manila, was also there to give invaluable tips that I would not have learned had I not joined the baking class that day.

Chef Rory, Interns Mitch and Shiela, Chef Elvie

The whole time, I was taking notes on the recipe handout (provided at the lobby) and capturing the demo on my digicam. Later on, I would like to refer on the notes and photos that I have taken which I believe would improve my very-basic kitchen know-how. I have also noticed the need for precision and accuracy in baking when it comes to measuring and mixing all the ingredients. Chef Elvie furthered that in baking, whatever mistake that you made while preparing and mixing the ingredients will affect your final output and sadly, there is nothing that you can do to improve it. Baking is truly both an art and science in itself.

Chef Elvie explains the impact of accurate measurement of ingredients and proper mixing in baking.

Chef Elvie and Mitch prepares the egg tart filling while waiting for the dough to rise (covered in aluminum bowl). She also showed us the varying sizes of molds for the crust.

Chef Elvie’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Cupcakes, Egg Tart and Red Velvet Cake

After watching how each recipe was made, Chef Elvie divided us into two groups for the workshop. Each group will make Red Velvet Cupcakes and Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Cupcakes. We were all given Maya aprons and ushered inside the kitchen. The moment I stepped inside, I felt like I was joining the Master Chef competition on TV! A girl can dream, right? Everything in the kitchen is spic and span. It smells clean and everything is in order. Since there are 4 of us in the group, we decided to split with the recipe. Jazzy and I took over the Red Velvet Cake and made 4 pans out of the ingredients. Maricho and her Japanese husband, Katsunori, worked on the Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Cupcakes. They were able to produce 14 chunky and yummy cupcakes.

The very neat and orderly Maya kitchen!

The ingredients of Red Velvet Cake have been prepared for us.

Chef Elvie looks on to ensure that we are doing it right.

After both groups have finished with the workshop, we returned to our seats so Chef Elvie could teach us how to create an icing and a simple decoration on the Red Velvet Cake that she made during the demo.

Chef Elvie covered the cake in cream cheese frosting and added red velvet cake crumbs as a finishing touch.

It took time for our goodies to bake and it was already past lunch time so Chef Rory and Chef Elvie helped us pack our yummy treats and told us to just decorate our lovely cakes at home. After exchanging warm Mother’s Day greetings, we left the class fulfilled and happy with what we have made.

My little food critic examining the chocolate chip cookie brownie cupcake

I had fun decorating our Red Velvet Cake at home!

It was a wonderful day of learning from the pros and making new friends! Taking part in one of the classes of The Maya Kitchen is certainly a good investment, a great gift that you can give to yourself or to that special someone who simply loves getting busy in the kitchen. Visit The Maya Kitchen website today and check out their lineup of classes for the month of May and June. You will surely find one that suits your interest. You may also drop by the center during Tuesdays to Saturdays. Take note of their contact details below.

The Maya Kitchen Culinary Center
8/F Liberty Building
835 A. Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road), Makati City
Call at: 8921185 / 892-5011 local 108 / Mobile No. +63947 835 2290
Email at: contactus@themayakitchen.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mayakitchen