Advice, Please #2

I'm not sure how "Mommy Ganda" from this post is currently doing, but I hope my advice, together with the two moms who made a comment, somewhat helped her. Anyway, last night, I received a message from another mom asking me if being a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) was my choice. Let's call her Mommy M.

Orange Away the Colds at Bay

One of the most "natural" ways for colds to go away!

Philippines has only two weather conditions --- rainy & sunny. Yes, right? A smart 5th-grader can disagree if typhoon is another type of weather. But whatever it is that the country has, we are prone to having colds due to allergens (which are due to pollutants that are in default settings with our lovely Republic). No, I am not here to advertise any non-drowsy allergy-relief medicine. Though I will if they will ask me to do it. Of course, let's talk if the medium is Php. Hahaha. As if. Well, I may be a modern mom, but I make sure that we will not depend on drugs whenever we feel sick. I have this sort of "barrio lass" inside me, going organic. Like, I used to try on boiling oregano leaves and making my little daughter drink its juice when she has cough. But I just can't make her get used to it. 'Cause I can't even drink it myself! So I concede, I just make her take a Lagundi-based cough syrup, a lesser evil than something so drug-ish. So when she has colds, her usual sickness (thank God!) aside from bruises & burns (LB is a little Parkour athlete), I just tell her to drink lots of water and I encourage her to do her own OJ. Mmm, yes, I finish all the tasks of doing so but I make her feel she did it all by herself. Fellow parents, Nido Milk is true to their words that the time you say YES to your children is the time they start learning. 

LB posing with her almost-full glass of fresh OJ
(which is actually a sunkist. ;p)

So here, even if it's a bit messy and there's more juice that'd gone to waste than what she actually poured in the glass, I'm proud of LB. That means, she really wanted to get well the soonest and that she trusts me. When I tell her to finish her milk so she'll become taller, she does. So when I told her to drink her OJ so she'd get well immediately and that I won't be there to take care of her 'cause I'll be at the office, she drank it in one count. I couldn't utter a better phrase to praise her, but a modest & uncool "Great job Pia!". Oh shucks, perks of motherhood. How about you?

Sotanghon Bunny

Based on the magazine articles I read, like ones I see in Smart Parenting, it's advisable to prepare food that are enticing to the kids' eyes. I once served the family buttered veggies, in which I told my little foodie, three-year-old Sophia, that the broccoli is a tree and baby potatoes are mountains. She didn't like the baby potatoes. Maybe it looks dirty. But she really did impress me with broccoli. So to enhance her palate, I'm slowly introducing her to different viands that a usual adult eats. I think we have the "Ground Pork in Tomato Sauce with Potatoes, Carrots, Green Peas & Raisins", like, every week. So yesterday, while doing my grocery-shopping in Rustan's Supermarket in Gateway, I found a really cute fish cake used in Shabu-Shabu. So because I know Shabu-Shabu won't be appealing to my daughter, I made a SOTANGHON BUNNY instead!

You basically saute garlic, onion and carrots. Put in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Salt & pepper to taste (Yeah, it sounds I know a lot!) then drop the bunnies! Once the bunnies are cooked, you can put in the sotanghon (aka Chinese Vermicelli; blanch it first in water). Voila, you made a Sotanghon Bunny! Best served hot. Indulge.

P.S. I apologize for my instructions. I'm not really good in recipe-writing.

I Will Be Mrs. Matilda Mouseling

Now that my daughter's soon be turning four, her being in school is the family's top priority, and one of the many things that causes me sleepless nights. Not that I don't want to spend much but I'm still unsure if my little popstar is ready. So to test, I enrolled her in a once-a-week session of ballet class in Primemont Science School, just-a-trike-away from our place. I haven't read reviews over the net from other moms about it but seeing from the photos in their Facebook page, I think it's a good school. What my worry is if their curriculum would match my little girl's attitude. You see, she's a mini-me, somewhat hard to handle, but generally sweet.

Adamant as to where to buy ballet paraphernalia, I posted in FB asking my friends about it but to no avail. Getting hopeless and scared that I might not be able to buy come my daughter's first ballet session, I texted my mom. I asked where she used to buy us ballet shoes when we used to dance for church. She said it was in COD, a department store in Cubao, Quezon City which is now unfortunately closed. Another she mentioned was Yvonne's, which can be see seen in SM Department Stores nationwide.

You can check their Facebook page here

Trusting her faithfully, that's where Sophia and I went to yesterday. Some sales ladies made me a bit annoyed but that did not stop me for looking for Yvonne's. Lo and behold! They have all what we need - leotards, tights, wrap-around skirts and even dancing shoes! All comes in different colors: black, nude, navy blue and well, PINK. My own Angelina Ballerina won't be complete without pink leotard and pink dancing shoes. ♥

I will be posting soon about her first day at her ballet class on the 28th. As a working mom, having a preschooler isn't an easy feat. I have to file a leave and instruct the nanny on what to prepare prior the d-day. Nevertheless, I'm super excited about this new experience for both of us.

Bebeng Cooks

My Little Kitchen Helper: Mixing the Buko Salad with Exaggerated Cream

I started cooking when I was in fifth grade. My mom was at the office and I needed to cook for me and my younger brother. Since I was rushing to go back to school for the school paper meeting, I scoured our fridge to check on what's available and I saw togue (mongo sprouts). I sauteed it. It has almost-burnt garlic, almost-raw onion and a sugary taste. You can't blame me, I didn't know how to use condiments then. But from that experience, I knew that cooking will always be a part of my life. Okay, no more nostalgic stories. Let me share with you the product of my recent post. Note: We are not members of the Catholic Church, thus the existence of pork.

Bebeng Goes to Market

Armed with my 3-year-old bayong & a purse from Davao

When I was a kid, my mom used to tag me along with her during her weekly wet market trip. We went to Nepa Q-Mart in Quezon City. I remember one time that she didn't, because she said I have the tendency to be "bilmoko" (short for BILI MO KO), a Pinoy pun for one who wants anything seen bought for her. I cried with my monologue "Mama, sama mo 'ko!" And when I realized she's not at home and left already, I just cut my bangs really short. Rebellious act, indeed. She didn't scold me though when she got home but after that incident, I can't find the scissors when I was doing a project for school! Well, this isn't about how I was as a kid, but how I started my love for shopping, wet market included.