Catching Up with Monthly Birthday Posts: 11th Month

Barely a month to go and our bunso will turn 1 already.  Imagine that - time flies really fast!  Sharing with you guys his 11th monthly birthday celebration.  For sure, we will miss the monthly cakes but not the extra pounds teehee!

Best-ever Bananalicious Pie from Conti's

The traditional blowing of cake!

As Gollum would say - "My Precious!"

Catching Up with Monthly Birthday posts: 10th Month

I'll just show you pictures ayt?!

Dome Cake by Starbucks este Purple Oven!

The birthday boy @10months

Shot with kuya Enzo

One Merienda Time @ Cyma (01 July 2012)

I remember we wanted to eat Shawarma then... #carnivorelangpeg!  So we trooped to Cyma Trinoma that afternoon.  We're not sure if Enzo would like the food so we opted to take-out nuggets from McDonalds which is why it seems we are in McDo and not Cyma harharhar!

 

This is what we ordered.  

Baklava - Quite a disappointment if I compare it with the ones sold at Salcedo Market!  But the rest of our orders are simply yummy!

Spinach and Artichoke Fondue - this we love!

I think this is the Chicken Gyro but we love the Mixed Meat one more.

This is what it looked like inside that wrap (Mixed Meat Gyro) - so messy nga lang but worth the effort naman!

 For sure, we are coming back here.  Though not everyday as it is a bit pricey.

Rafa was 8 before he turned 9-months (2-in-1 post)

Since I am so late in blogging, I am doing a 2-in-1 post.  The first one is to share with you our find in Cake2Go.  There is a newly opened branch near our place so that's where hubby opted to buy for Rafa's 8th-month birthday.  This is really sweet but moist and oh so yummy!  This is one of their bestsellers - Devil's Food Cheesecake if I remember correctly.

And I also wanted to share with you guys the Baby 1st walker we bought for Rafa.  Warning: his pedia said it is NO longer recommended at any age!  However, I wanted to have somewhere to place him for a little while as he doesn't want to stay put in his crib that long.  BUT I always remind the yaya to keep watch at all times kahit nasa walker pa as it might topple over.

Moving on, last June 7 is Rafa's 9th-month birthday.  I left the office a bit early because I still have to go to my dental appointment for the root canal therapy (that should be another post!) at Dentista, Inc. in Shangri-La mall.  On our way home, we passed by The Bakeshop of Edsa Shangri-La and decided to buy his cake there since they have on display this Dark Chocolate Cake for only Php560.  Di gaano kamahal!  The other choices are in the range of 1K already.  I tell you - sa chocolate frosting pa lang sulit na kahit the cake itself is a bit crumbly (do you get what I mean?! - not the moist and siksik-type).

From Rafa's check-up last June 1 (a few days shy of his 9th-month), he weighs 7.2kgs and 70.2cms longer.  Head circumference is 45cms while chest circumference is 43cms.  He is catching up with Kuya in terms of his height but Kuya is a lot heavier at 9-months (9kgs and 71cms I believe) hihihi!

How I Spent My 33rd Birthday?

I had this wonderful "ME time" planned out.

Mom was supposed to go with me and shop.

I'll leave the 2 boys at home with Lolo.

My interim manager approved my scheduled leave.

BUT the boys have other plans.

When I came home last night, Enzo woke up telling me that he feels cold - that's a red flag! Enzo is the type who wants the aircon turned on all the time if he has his way. I checked his forehead. He was hot - temperature reading is at 37.9. Sabi na nga ba! But why?! That's at 11:30PM. By this time, I already texted my dad and his school bus driver that he won't be going to school the next day. 4 hours later - his temp is still at 38.2. Another Paracetamol. 2 hours later - 39.9 that's bad! So I gave him Ibuprofen which usually helps lower his temperature. I decided to bring him to his pedia who's having his clinic at St. Luke's Global. I'm bringing Rafa as well as he has cough and colds naman. Diba my boys have unique gifts for my 33rd birthday.

So my well-planned "ME time" was thrown out the window. We all got home at almost 2PM and tired and it was raining hard. I just ordered from Amber's spaghetti with meat sauce and pichi-pichi with cheese plus hubby brought home a DQ Chocolate Xtreme Ice Cream Cake.

.this should be the simplest (yet grateful) birthday to date.

The Simplest yet Most Touching Valentine's to date

This is what I saw when I came home last night at 11PM past... grabe ha parang Christmas season lang sa dami ng tao pauwi pa at this time...

My boy wrote that while his dad guides him on some of the letters. The single-stem rose (I found out later from hubby) was from his office harharhar! This was actually taped in the mirror/wall where our dining table is.

It's true that not all sweet things come in expensive packages - mine came from the heart!

You see -- my birthday is coming up in 2 days after V Day so I insisted to hubby not to order flowers anymore and just give me the shopping money. I so wanted to revamp my wardrobe. It's been almost all of last year when I was on maternity wear and since we've decided that I'm at least not getting pregnant soon (or ever!), I think I needed some new office clothes. Hopefully, my leave is approve and I'm going shopping with Mama. Hubby kasi can't take a leave.

Anyway, back to my Valentine's post, here is our midnight snack last night to cap off Valentine's. We are a convert when it comes to Sonja's cupcakes. The Pistachio Berries N' Cream is so divine (Php 85.00). Hubby loves it! As in he finished off the whole cupcake. I was only able to taste a little. In fact, better than their Red Velvet Vixen (Php70.00). The Flourless Choco Cupcake (Php100.00) is another tempting revelation.

How was your V Day, guys?

Sidenote: However, other sweet stuff do come in expensive paper bag kaya lang out of stock pa!

Happy 5th-month, Bunso!

Happy 5th-month Birthday, Bunso! You had a case of diarrhea last Friday (February 3) so mommy had to rush home from work that day to administer your medicine. We also had your stool examined and good thing, the results all came back normal. Your pedia advised that we shift you to a lactose-free variant of NAN HW 1 - the NAN Al 110. So at the moment, we alternate between the 2 to avoid constipation naman.

This is your 5th-month Ice Cream Cake by Bake N Churn. Yummy na, mura pa at only Php250.00.
Look at how tempting it is but I had to control myself from over-eating again. Though hubby was suggesting that it might be the Gong Cha Wintermelon Milk Tea we tried last Sunday (that would be another post). I dunno...
So I had to share this slice with hubby huhuhu! The cherry is all mine though.

The Ultimate Dessert: Frap na...Ice Cream pa...

That's because we needed to try the freezer of our new Electrolux LOL! Hubby & I were even debating whether to try this first or Ben & Jerry's. As you can see... we ended up with Starbucks' Mocha Frappuccino Ice Cream... and Blue Bunny's Chocolate Chip Cookies Ice Cream.
Hahaha! Look the boy can't wait to get his hands on it... Masarap sya, really creamy!

Love@5 Years

Can’t imagine that we have celebrated our 5 Years together as husband and wife which will only mean that we have been together as a couple for 13 Years. Hubby posted this on my wall:

“...to the one woman I will marry a thousand times over...happy anniversary =) love you!"

Syempre kinilig ako! Even after all these years, he continually gives a warm smile on my face. To which I replied:

“ waaah! now ko lang nabasa... thanks ney! ... and to the man I will say "Yes!" a thousand times over... Happy 5th Anniversary!"

And that’s true. I believe and trust that we are both right for each other. Just look at our kids – diba perfect combination – genes pa lang yan! Hahaha!

We decided to celebrate with an overnight stay at Edsa Shangri-La last December 30 (post celebration). We brought with us the 2 boys (sans the yaya) so imagine our hands were full but it was a fun stay especially for Kuya who enjoyed the swimming pool so much. And when we asked him if he wants to join a swimming or football class – he would excitedly say “swimming.” So we are still torn where to enroll him this summer.

I didn’t go swimming anymore to watch over Rafa. Hayz! I could have brought my swimsuit and alternate watching over Rafa with hubby. We actually got a go signal from his pedia that it’s okay but it was our choice (in the end) not to let him swim since he’s barely 4 months old.

Take a look at Kuya… all ready to swim…

Having so much fun with Daddy.

By the pool.

That night, we ate at the Heat. I consumed less rice (HA! I’m so used to eating less rice.) but devoured on the baked salmon, grilled salmon, baked lobster and the chocolate chip cookies. Those cookies are heavenly, I tell you. Not much pictures during dinner… remember, we have 2 boys with us.

The next day, we had breakfast at the Heat again. Thank God we were such early birds because we would have been lining up for breakfast. They’re jam packed that morning (31st) . We loved the Coffee Frozen Yogurt they served during breakfast yum yum!

Coffee Frozen Yogurt on top of my Peach Crepe
with pistachio and dark choco chips.

After breakfast, Daddy and Enzo went swimming again. Rafa and I went up early to our room as it was drizzling. Daddy and Enzo followed suit before 11AM as Enzo still wants to play at the bath tub. Seriously, when we buy our own house, we’ll have a bath tub installed.

And here is our yearly Anniversary picture. Oh! I have yet to post our yearly Christmas picture too (reminds self!)

Red Velvet Mini-Cake by Figaro

Hayz! One word to describe it - disappointing ;(

I was initially excited to see a Red Velvet mini-cake in Figaro (Ayala TechnoHub branch). It's Php129.00 and much more expensive than the slices of cakes offered in Starbucks so I was expecting it to be at par at least. But it wasn't.

The cake seems to have been sitting in the refrigerator for weeks already. It was too dry. There seems to be a caramel filling that I'm not really able to distinguish. The sames goes to their cream cheese frosting. Sayang ang Php129.00 ko, in short!

The Red Velvet Quest

I got intrigue with this cake after reading this post and this post by Mommy Fleur. The red color is truly enticing plus the cream cheese frosting is quite different from your usual frosting so I wanted to give it a try.

My boss in my new company always order the Red Velvet cake in Segafredo. I must try that too when I get back to the office!

So when I saw this post at Dessert Comes First and hubby told me his folks are visiting us, it was an opportunity to grab this treat.

Cucay's Red Velvet Cake (Php660) for a small round cake (7") is a bit pricey but it was worth the price and the travel too. The small cake is packed, moist and the cream cheese frosting is evident. Unlike the Red Velvet Cupcake by Frostings which I tried earlier that seems to have an ordinary "just plain sweet" frosting. Though the cream cheese frosting is a bit too sweet but I love it that way. I shared a portion to my parents and another portion to my BIL. The rest have been wiped out in 2 days. I could easily wipe it out in 1 sitting but I have to restrain myself hahaha!

I have also tried the Red Velvet Cake by Cheesecake Melliza. My friend was the one who took a picture... sayang I could have posted it here. But Cukay's so far is the best among this three I've tasted.

Watch out as I try to explore the other versions available in the market - it is truly that addicting! Kainis I'm watching pa naman my sugar hayz!

Sunday Dinner at Bon Chon, Katipunan

Finally, last night hubby & I with my in-laws were able to sample Bon Chon's. I used to work near Greenbelt however when they opened a branch there, I have just moved to a new company in Bonifacio Global City. Tsk! Tsk!

Yesterday, my in-laws visited us and we wanted to go to St. Clare plus I'm dying to try this Red Velvet Cake - Cucay's at Eastwood Mall. It was almost dinner time when we left Eastwood Mall so we decided to try the Bon Chon's branch in Katipunan (across Ateneo).

We ordered the "Mix & Match Rice Pack" (if I remembered correctly?!). Php145 for a 2-piece chicken (thigh & drumstick). Drinks are included in this combo. We got 2 orders of the original flavor and another 2 orders of the hot & spicy so we can try both.

I love the flavor and how crispy the skin is but there's not much flavor on the chicken meat itself. Pwede ba chicken skin na lang? Harharhar!



I also ordered their "Calamari" (Php 125) for Enzo as I'm not sure if he'll like the chicken as it's not the usual fried chicken he loves. He did eat the chicken as the skin was crispy.









Here is one of Enzo's wacky moments. I had to change his shirt as he probably had a big bite of chicken he couldn't swallow and threw up a bit. His dad took a picture of this tambay at Bon Chon hihihi! He got his looks from me (syempre! am the mom) but he has his dad's personality hayz! ;p

My Frozen Yogurt Adventure (Yoh-Gurt Froz)

I had this a few days ago... this is actually cheaper than The White Hat & Red Mango with already 3 toppings of cherries (or was that strawberries?), cheesecake and butterscotch. The serving, in fact, was quite huge but I was sooo disappointed... geez! The yogurt is sooo bland, I miss that sourness you expect in a yogurt. I should have just ordered again from The White Hat my current fave, the Kooky Hat!

My personal ratings: 1/5 spoon!

My Frozen Yogurt Adventure (The White Hat)

Today, I had this Italian frozen yogurt with red cherries and homemade cheesecake for toppings from The White Hat. The regular plain yogurt is Php90.00. One topping is additional P20.00, two toppings like mine is Php35.00 and three toppings (if you can't get enough) is Php45.00. I love it more than Red Mango really. Although Red Mango is a little cheaper. The sourness in this yogurt is distinct enough for me to know I'm eating a yogurt. The toppings I got also go well with the plain yogurt, you see!

My personal rating: 5/5 spoons!

My Frozen Yogurt Adventure (Qoola)

Sorry for the blurry photo as I am only using my iPhone.

Oh oh! This is quite addicting huh?

After lunch today, I decided to try this Canadian frozen yogurt in Greenbelt, "Qoola."

The staff asked me if it's my first time there and I said "yes." She gave me a sample of all their available flavors - Original, Raspberry, Strawberry-Banana (no sugar added) and Chocolate. Tip: the Original and Raspberry flavors are on the sour side while the Strawberry-Banana and Chocolate flavors are on the sweet side. For me, their Original flavor is more sour in taste than that of Red Mango. But since, I'm not such a yogurt person, I ended up with Strawberry-Banana.

Their price is per gram (Php75.00/100grams) so I was very careful not to get so much and pay too much. Though I was able to get more toppings - white chocolate chips, chocolate chips, Oh Henry and cashews. I ended up with 115grams which costs me Php86.25. Not bad! But I would have gotten more if I had known I would love it hahaha!

My personal rating: 5/5 spoons!

My Frozen Yogurt Adventure (Red Mango)

I know... I know... I'm sooo outdated!

You see, am not really fond of yogurts so when the buzz on the different frozen yogurts sprouting everywhere and anywhere, I didn't budge. Until yesterday...

Hubby wanted to have his haircut and a scalp treatment that would take about an hour or so. And since I've already checked Landmark for Enzo's swimming attire and swimming diapers (which will be for another post), I decided to give it a try. I have been telling hubby a few days ago that we should try all the frozen yogurts and see which is better.

My first try is the "Red Mango" in Trinoma. Their newly opened store (near Max's) wasn't as busy as their stall near the Toys 'R Us. And their glass door should be fixed as it's hard to push/pull it haaay!

Hmmm... I tasted first the original frozen yogurt without the 2 toppings I got. It wasn't too sour as I was expecting yogurts will be which I like really. And the toppings I got which was recommended by the staff was "blueberry" and "cheesecake." It was a very nice combination and I wasn't disappointed for someone who isn't fond of yogurts! I like it so far!

Hubby had a few bites and he wanted to try it again... maybe this Thursday before we go to the supermarket for our weekly grocery.

Their small (4oz) Original Frozen Yogurt is Php80.00 and one topping is an additional Php20.00 or two toppings for Php30.00.

I think this is a good alternative to my Starbucks addiction, a lot healthier too!

My personal rating: 4/5 spoons!

dessert haven

Parvati, that is!

They are located at the ground floor, Mindanao lobby of Trinoma (near Gourdo's and Conti's which is on the outside). I read they just opened last month. We have passed by this dessert place a couple of times but never really checked it out until last night. From a distance, it seems like a cafe of some sort. But were we surprised?!

We were introduced by the nice waitress to an assortment of desserts from different home bakers. Wow! And some I have even read in blogs like the "Supreme Brazo Bars" by Ces Lopez. I was aching to try this but since her kiosk is located at the Alabang Town Center, I never had the chance. Maybe now I do! They also have this Japanese ice cream I read about. And there's really more. Maybe next time, I can ask for their list of products so I can share with you.

According to the waitress, one of their best sellers is this Frozen Brazo de Mercedes by Fiona. We almost left without buying thinking we can definitely try this next time... but we couldn't resist this...

















A peek inside. Sayang! It is almost melted but this is sooo heavenly and not too sweet either, maybe because of the ice cream and graham-based(?). Even hubby who was never a fun of brazo de mercedes loves it! This individual box is Php180.00. They have 8x8 for Php600.00 which you can give as a birthday gift.












Look at the melted ice cream... but it still is sinfully yummy! Two Thumbs Up, as they say.

And oh, they have a sample of the Cream Cheese Brownie by Mark's Baking and it's also good!

As their tagline goes, "Parvati - where home bakers and dessert lovers meet..."

Date with my boys (14 June 2010)

We went to EDSA Shangri-La last Monday. Hubby ended up not rendering overtime anymore. It was a lot of fun and we should do it really more often.

He rode the carousel... and loved it (for the first time!). I believe this is his 4th time already but it was the 1st time he did enjoy riding it... or maybe because the horse wasn't moving up and down?!















Then we let him play at Gymboree for 1/2 hours (Php180.00). I "heart" Gymboree because I can let my son wander without worrying he'll fall and hurt himself. He can even go on the slide on his own now. Of course, I was nearby worrying a bit but proud at the same time. It's hard letting him be on his own but I know this is how he'll learn in the process.








Up and down... up & down again... and he went to the slide a couple more times after that...

After Gymboree, Enzo was saying "pizza, pizza!" I think he overheard us earlier that we are planning to eat pizza hihihi! Off we went to Green Tomato for our snacks. I "heart" Green Tomato. It's now on my list of must dine-ins. I should have this list up on my blog soon.








We had their 9" Four Cheese Pizza (Php 205.00). Their crust is really thin and crunchy. There's a pesto in it so it's not your usual "Four Cheese Pizza."








We also ordered a single serve of this Sausage Pasta (Php225.00). This also did not disappoint us. Enzo ate more than half of the bread included in this pasta and their Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream (Php70.00) in between.

Total bill amounts to Php583.00. Included in the bill is 1 bottled water and service charge as well.

We'll definitely go back here...