Almondigas

Feeding a growing toddler may be quite tricky given their food limitations and experience. But once you get into the groove in knowing what your kid likes most and what she can eat, serving her nutritious and delicious food can be your second nature. I have three simple tips to achieve that! First, it has to be soft or soupy. Nothing that can choke them or can make their milkteeth hard to chew. Next, it should be a complete meal—think of go, grow glow. Toddlers have unlimited energy and they need well-balanced meals to refuel. Lastly and most importantly, it has to be irresistibly yummy.

Misua con Patola or Almondigas easily tops the list of dishes that we can serve our toddler and the whole family. It's a legit hit especially when it's breezy cool like today. For those who don't know yet, Almondigas came from the Spanish word Albondigas, which means meatballs. So yes, this soup is meatballs-based but loved well if it has patola and misua. There are more savory versions from other countries but here in the Philippines, Almondigas is known to be light and comforting; perfect for sweater weather or when someone's down with a flu.

Love My Party-Ready Look by Maja Blanka Makeup Artistry

Ten years ago, on Sophia's first birthday party, I only had powder and lipstick on. I know I'm more kikay than most women my age but I was really clueless about makeup. Worse, my hair was tied in a tight ponytail. And to make the look more loshang, I wore a headband with it, haha! It was very humid that day, okay. Mother Nature was having her PMS 'cause six days after the party, Ondoy happened. But I told myself that it's not going to happen again on Samantha's first birthday party.

I'm so happy to have hit that vain goal of mine! I may have unwanted fats here and there but at least, I looked polished in each and every photo, candid or not. Beauty isn't a priority for some moms but I hope this post will make you change your mind. I mean, look at the huge difference!

Filipino 90s Party for Samantha's First Birthday

We never do real time here on my blog, I bet you already know that. So I'm sure you understand why I am only sharing this now when it actually happened a month ago. Okay, before you start saying, "But one-year-olds don't actually know that it's their birthday!", I have said in my welcome speech in the party that we did this for us and the guests and not solely for Sam. And because it was for us, my husband R and I thought of a theme that will be an instant hit to our crowd. We only invited family and close friends. I only had one from college, R had four from the military and the rest are our families. We knew that they will appreciate Filipino 90s theme.

It was around first quarter of last year when we planned out how it was going to be—a party like when we were kids. What was it then? Well, nothing fancy schmancy. The only difference was it wasn't held in a garage but in an events place called Sweet Madie's.

One Word, One Year: 2019

After a week and so of trying to balance homeschooling, taking care of a toddler and managing the household while being down with flu, I realized how my one word last year still has its effect on me. Well, it doesn't really apply to my general mood (malalaos ang mga nagro-road rage sa akin haha) but it was when I'm calm that Sophia better understands a Math problem, Sammy loves it when I'm calm and being calm is the best way to keep a hardworking helper. So yes, choosing a word to work on your life definitely gives good results. Hence, still doing it this year.

I've been choosing one word every new year for five years already, except in 2015 when my goal then was to rebrand (from a hot pink Bebengisms to a quieter, cleaner Royal Domesticity) and my process has never changed. I still pray before I finally decide on what to put here. One Word, One Year may just be a blogging trend but for me, it's all spiritual. I always seek for what the Lord sees in my heart. I got stuck for a few days thinking of what word to choose but after I prayed, I knew what it's going to be. 

In 2014, I chose faith.

In 2016, I chose purpose.

In 2017, I chose humility.

In 2018, I chose calm.

And for 2019, I choose GRATITUDE.

Moving Forward

Well, well, well. What do we have here? In the past three years, my first post of every new year was all about looking back the past year. It's not entirely a bad thing but this year, I decided to celebrate our now and maybe get more excited for the days to come. So...

This is TMI but my girls and I haven't taken a bath yet and the sink's still full of dirty dishes from our brunch earlier. Also, as of this writing, our househelp hasn't come home yet from her New Year's leave. I'm kind of expecting the worst already; I just don't want to wash the dishes yet. After all the festivities, from four Christmas parties in the camp to cooking two batches of seafood paella and lechon belly here at home, my skin and bones are yearning for this blog. Like I said in a previous post, I will be blogging for me. So dirty plates, you can wait.

Took this photo inside the camp using my husband's office camera.

Upon checking the Blogger dashboard, there are posts saved on my drafts from 2012, the year I started blogging mainstream (I had an online journal no one has ever read), that I still haven't published till now. Yes, 7 years later, it's still there. What happened, you ask? Simple—procrastination. That giant evil blob of a word has led me to many of my failures, blogging and life in general. It's tough to avoid it but this year, I am seriously hoping to never invite it to my parties. Hence, typing away now like a hired thesis typist. 

I have a few solid plans for this lovely space but basically, I just want you all to know that you'd be reading a lot of my ruminations from now on. As in, like writing in my LiveJournal in 2003! I enjoy sharing hacks, tips and new products for families to try but writing my random ramblings is what I love doing the most here. Kinda sounds selfish, I know but that's my truth. I wish you won't get tired of reading it, though. 

OK. My allotted minutes for the blog are over! I can hear the girls' laughter from the room, don't want to miss the fun. Next post will be about grocery shopping then my one word for 2019. Laters! ♥

Three Important Things to Remember When Preparing for a Children's Party

So we just celebrated Sammy's dedication to the Lord and first birthday two Sundays ago. It wasn't a perfect party but all the people I've spoken with after told me the same thing—our Pinoy 90s party was naturally fun! I felt so relieved when I knew that our friends and family were happy. You see, a first birthday party isn't really for the celebrant. Aside from the parents hosting it, it is actually for the guests. That is why whenever we hold parties, we make sure to invite those that matter to us. R and I aren't the kind of people who invite the "guest of honor" type, who usually ends up to be the star of the event. We love having the people we love to be with. 

It's not that I'm already a pro in parties but I just realized now that budget, location and food may be the basic things to think about but there are three more important things a mom (or dad or anyone) should remember when preparing for a children's party. And because sharing is caring, here it is. This is just a quick read, no worries. Just think of the 3Cs!

Life Lately: Blogging for His Glory

Things were pretty intense in the Rayala household the past few weeks that iced cold coffee, doughnuts and Netflix weren't enough to calm me. 

It started with Sophia's first Portfolio Review, a quarterly assessment for homeschooling families that's basically the basis of what a student learned at home with her parent-teacher. So you see, it felt like thesis-making in college all over again. Except that I had to collect Math worksheets as proof that she can already do mental addition, subtraction and multiplication of 2 to 3 digits. Also, since Sophia's greatest academic strength is drawing, I wanted to showcase that in all of her subjects, if possible. Can you feel the pressure? Can you feel the force in my nape that slowly gravitates into every nerve in my brain whenever I tried not to yell at a slow-paced Sophia? Can you feel my heart pounding each time I have nervously laid Sammy Bear to sleep, wishing she'd wake up a little later?

Speaking of our baby love, she has majorly contributed to whatever is the total amount of my tiredness. I love her to bits and her laugh flies me to the moon but my back is just dying whenever we're out. Buhatan forever dot com.