Baguio in September

This year is probably the busiest so far, for both my work and our tiny family. And just before it gets even busier come Christmas season, our little family was gifted with two overnight stays at Baguio Country Club. It's a perfect break after all the crayyy and definitely an awesome down time before another wave of busy that is coming before the year ends.

Since it's been raining cats and dogs lately, going to Baguio - the summer capital of the Philippines, might seem like a crazy idea. A lot of the touristy activities here are mostly outdoors which are best enjoyed when it's bright and sunny. Thinking about it, not a lot of things we can do really.

Sounding like a boring trip already? Nope. While the things to do were very limited in the rainy season, Baguio offers a lot of nice places to eat that are equally worth your time. 

This is a lengthy and photo-heavy post so I hope you'll enjoy reading. Here are some of the places we visited and the yummy eats we had from this trip!

The Yaya Chronicles

It's inevitable for a Mama's blog to have a post or two about her Yaya encounters. Here's mine.

While I did not constantly have a Yaya/Househelp when I was growing up, I still pretty much experienced a lot of dealing with them, mostly when I was all grown up because of my sisters and their babies and a lot of stories from friends and online communities.

And when Ava finally came, I finally had my very own share of Yaya stories.

The first one who came in was when Ava was just around three months old. Yaya #1 agreed to do the job but she eventually confessed that she was pregnant and she just had to get away so her family won't know. Of course we had to let her go and told her that she needs to let her family know about her situation. Yaya #2 was too young and because of the lack of goal and maturity, she got bored and opted to go back home after two months of stay. Yaya #3, we had to let go after a week because she was totally not fit to take care of a baby. That was also the first time I fired a person. Yaya #4 was a familiar face to us. She was my first niece's previous Yaya and she also became our help at home before Mr. T and I got married. She left because of personal issues and later on we heard news that she eventually had a baby on her own. Conveniently for us, while we were looking, and for the third time, she went back to us and became our Yaya from Ava's fifth month until her eighteenth. She left once again because this time, she needed to take care of her own kid.

The one that followed, Yaya #5 lasted for a little more than two months. She took a weekend off and while she was away, we found out that she's been doing some things that are unacceptable, nothing that involved Ava, thankfully. We understand that it comes with being young and all but I really can't tolerate some things. We told her not to come back anymore.

Teachings from my Daughter

One thing I love the most about motherhood and parenting in general is that I get to learn a lot of things from a pint-sized tot with a cheeky face. :)

Last Tuesday night, Ava felt warm to the touch. But aside from that, she was her usual jolly self - ate dinner with so much enthusiasm and sung and danced like a pro before our sleep routine. When she latched on to me, that's when I knew she has a fever. We checked her temperature and it registered a 38.1°C. Mr. T and I both concluded that her budding molars are causing it. As per our pedia's advice, we gave her a dose of paracetamol and stuck a Koolfever on her forehead. I also applied some teething gel (prescribed by her pedia) to her gums. She started getting fussy and would latch, unlatch, cry and asked to be carried. We were monitoring her temperature every hour, and by midnight her temperature was already 39.1°C. And she was at her crankiest. Mr. T and I were calm and quiet the whole time, we agreed that if her temperature didn't go down on our next checking, we are going straight to the ER. Thankfully, it went back down to 38°C. But she was still fussy and would wake up every hour or two until the morning of Wednesday. It was then when her temperature started going down to 37°C. Late afternoon, she was totally back as if the night before didn't happen.

You wouldn't know that she's still sporting a low-grade fever here. This was the morning after.

I found out later on that Mr. T and I were sharing the same feeling during one moment when Ava was crying (as if in pain) and we couldn't figure out why. As I have said, we were both quiet and calm but the truth was, both of us were really worried, close to panicking thinking it could be something else other than teething. After recalling what happened the previous night, we realized that it wasn't that bad after all. And once again, Ava taught us how to be her parents.

Ava shows us more and more about her character on a daily basis. We are often caught by surprise with how fast she's growing and maturing. Maybe it's today's generation, but we are really seeing how Ava is becoming her own little person everyday - strong and independent yet loving and compassionate.

Our characters as parents are also changing along with her growth. And I just love how Ava continues to teach us to be more patient, understanding and compassionate. She made us see life on a different perspective, through her eyes. Where everything always has a brighter side. Her sense of humor is so contagious making our home filled with laughter all the time. But she also gets frustrated, she also cries and whines thus teaching us to respond more with sensitivity. 

I know this post is going nowhere really but today my heart is just filled with so much joy just thinking about these things and moments that Ava has brought to our lives. :)

Ditch the Mama Guilt

I have been working for nearly a decade now. Two companies, almost two years in the first one, and I'm on my 6th year here in my current office with only 2 or 3 months of unemployment in between. In case you're not familiar with what I do, I work as a designer in an architecture and interior design company. In our industry, regardless if we are designing residential houses, offices, commercial spaces, etc., all have something common. It's the flexibility and the long working hours needed to complete a certain project. In my previous job, I have experienced staying in the office for two-three days straight to finish a project presentation. But things are better where I am currently working, our company encourages maximizing our office hours instead of rendering overtime work. But as I have mentioned, our industry goes hand in hand with the need for extended work hours so there are days that I still need to stay a little longer just to get things done.

If you are unattached, single, in a relationship or even married without children, your time is pretty much your own. So working in the office until late at night or until the wee hours of the morning even, is really okay as long as you're able and and willing. But when you become a Mama, a baby enters the picture, then poof! Every second will count. Literally. And when the seconds add up to minutes, hours or even days for some, that's when the guilt starts. The guilt doubles up if you're coming home late not because of work, but because of some leisure time with your husband or with your friends. Trust me. I know how anxiety can get to you in the middle of a movie, or in the middle of a good conversation with your friends. It sneaks from below your spine up to the back of your neck. It will even give you goosebumps some times.

But here I am now, having a hot cup of hibiscus tea and a plate of sticky cinnamon bun while waiting for Mr. T to come off of work. I could have gone home earlier but since it's raining, traffic's bad for sure. I'm not that brave to commute at this time. Instead, I'm going to spend the next hour blogging and reading. Do I feel guilty? No.

Internet, hear me. I'm not guilty. Lol. :P

Ok, sometimes I still do feel guilty but not as much as before. And I know Mr. T has completely different views about this, he already knows that going home an hour or two later than usual is already ok. No need to beat ourselves up for it, just make the most out of it. After reading more about attachment parenting, I have come to realize that spending most (if not all) of my time and energy with and for my daughter brings no balance to my personal and our family life. I have to make time for my husband, myself and other things too. In order for me to do this, I needed to do some changes and I am sharing some of them to you.

The Balik Bukid Experience

I've been wanting to visit Sta. Elena Fun Farms ever since I've read about it in My Mom-Friday's post. They also have the Balik Bukid fair which happens twice a year, one during summer and one in the last quarter of the year.On their first year, we were busy with the wedding preps and I didn't know about them then, the following year, we were busy with parenthood. But finally this year, it happened! Just right on time for Mother's Day! :)))

Since it was our first time, I would like to share with you some of our learnings so you can enjoy your Balik Bukid experience more.

1. It is best to choose the right time you want to go to the fair. Check the schedule posted on their Facebook Page to see what activities will interest you. The fair starts at 8:00am and ends till 6:00pm. If you're coming with babies and toddlers, I suggest going early morning, or late afternoon. Otherwise, lunch time could be a little uncomfortable especially if you're going on a hot summer day.
2. Don't forget to bring stuff that will protect you from the sun. Hats, umbrellas, abanikos, sunscreen, etc. There are available stuff on site as well, but it's still best to bring your own so you won't need to buy and spend extra.
3. Think about having a picnic! Because that's one of the best things you can do during the fair. Bring blankets, pillows, etc. You can just choose a spot and setup and enjoy munching some food you got from the participating stalls or just enjoy an afternoon nap. We're definitely doing this next time.

Here are some of the photos during our visit. We particularly enjoyed watching Ava interact with the animals. She was so ecstatic. Just look at that face. :)

Celebrating One Year of BLW

It was exactly on Ava's 6th month celebration when we introduced her to solids. Her first food was avocado. That was one year ago already.

When we started out with the whole parenting thing, we were basically relying on our doctors, parents and siblings for advises. That meant doing everything the traditional way. As we adjusted a few months later, we began to have a better understanding that we are already building a family of our own. I, particularly, wanted to break from my family's norm of raising up kids. Don't get me wrong, I am forever grateful to my parents and I respect my siblings' decisions in raising up their own kids. It's just that I think, our generations have evolved immensely and there are significant information that we didn't know back then that we know now. That's where our choice for Attachment Parenting (AP) came in.

Our Darling Daughter's Birth Story

As our toddler turns 18 months old today, I would like to finally share the story of her birth.

October 30, 2012 | Wednesday. It was two weeks before my due date. I was sitting outside my OB's clinic after my office, waiting for Cholo and for my turn to be checked. Ava, like the impatient baby that she is, was kicking and somersaulting like an olympic gold medalist inside my tummy. I was not complaining because any movement was always a good indication for us during that time. Cholo arrived around 7pm and not too long after, it was our turn to be checked. During the ultrasound, our OB told me that she can't seem to scan any movements, apparently Ava fell asleep right before we went inside. She instructed me to turn to my left side so we can wake Ava up. Still scanning, our OB told me that she's gonna send me to the ER if she didn't see any movements so we can have a stress test. A few minutes later, Ava twitched. What a good girl! :) My cervix was also checked via IE, I was already 1cm dilated. But we were allowed to go home since I was not experiencing any contractions yet.

After our checkup, while having our dinner, Mr. T and I were even talking about the possibility of Ava being born on November 1. And we thought we were just kidding. I still have a little blood discharge when we got home, thinking it was from my IE earlier, I went about my nightly routine and prepared to rest for the night. My discharge, though small in amount, seemed to be more than just an effect of my IE so we decided to message our OB. She immediately instructed us to proceed to the ER to be checked. So I took a bath (because if this was really it, who knows when's the next time I'd be able to get a full bath. :P), got our stuff ready and went straight to the ER. When we got to the hospital, the residents immediately checked on my cervix. I was admitted at around 11pm, 3cm dilated. It was a long night.

Summer Time is Travel Time

It's summer time and it goes without saying that family trips are also here. For first time parents like us, travelling with a toddler could be a great challenge. Not that we have been travelling, but I've been thinking about it and thought about ways of how we'll manage when the time comes.

Just recently, we were able to travel and visit my parents in Nueva Ecija. It's usually a 3-4-hour-drive from Manila via NLEX, but it seemed like everybody was headed the same way. It took as 6 hours. Our fambam's first time to travel with Ava the toddler that long.

Luckily, our little happy belle didn't seem to bother the long drive. And it also helped that we brought some stuff that kept her busy.


Here's my take on what you can do while travelling with your toddler:

Carseats

The use of carseats in our country is not as strict compared to others. I am also guilty of this, most of the time, we're good with Ava just sitting on my lap either in the front passenger seat or at the back. But I think we should all practice safe travelling especially when we are with our children. Make sure they are all buckled up comfortable and secured. Unlucky for us, we just realized that our darling daughter already outgrew her infant car seat. So we had to take her out from it and just settle at the backseat while Mr. T drove carefully. That's why we're already looking at getting front-facing carseats so the next time we go for a long drive, Ava is already safely buckled up. :)

Left: Ava in her infant car seat. Right: Britax Front-Facing Car Seat.

Baby's Safety Online

This has been an on-going topic amongst parents and it seems like it's going to continue along with the evolving virtual world of social media internet. And ever since our very own little belle entered toddlerhood, this has become a part of our discussion as parents as well.

Amongst the articles I've read discussing/debating this issue, I've come across two questions that are always being asked. (1) Are you violating your own child's right to privacy? (2) Is it safe to post photos of your child?

And these are my takes.

(1) Violation of my child's privacy. This sounds silly to me, trying to imagine my toddler, who can't even control her bladder yet, invoking the right to control her own photos.

"The violation of personal privacy doesn’t start until an individual has the ability to understand what the violation means." - New York Times

Makes a lot of sense to me. That's why it becomes part of our many responsibilities as parents -  to make sure that our children are safe and protected - whenever, wherever. For me, bum-naked is already a violation of my child's privacy. I once posted a photo of her right after birth, blurred out except for her face. But eventually took it down after a while because I find it too much for sharing. The context of how photos are being shared should also be considered.

(2) Safety of my child. This one I find a bit too much.

“Research shows that there is virtually no risk of pedophiles coming to get kids because they found them online,” said Stephen Balkam, chief executive of the Family Online Safety Institute. While the debate makes this crime seem common, he said, all the talk is really just “techno-panic.”

Exactly my point. Of course protecting children from dangerous people should be a concern to all parents. However, these people are more likely to target children they know and who trust them already, instead of those they have only seen on the Internet.

Hey! Still Here :)

I think it's time to state the fact that I am a negligent blogger. Or maybe a seasonal blogger instead, so as not to be too harsh on myself. :P Yes, I am still keeping (or at least trying to) my blog updated so I'm just gonna move on and jump on to what's current instead of holding off till I can complete my backlogs which will just make everything pile up all together. So yeah. Let's move on. Maybe I'll just post about them when I get the chance. :)

Let me just do a quick roundup instead of blogging about each event one by one. Last I posted was all about my little belle's Little Miss Audrey stint. It was then followed by her series of birthday celebrations, then the holiday season and the start of her toddler year. Yes, this little person right here took over our lives. But we're not complaining. Just loving every minute of it.

Fambam Hits: Milky & Sunny

About a month ago, right before crazy November started, we found our little fambam in a small and cozy breakfast place called Milky & Sunny. This has been on my list for quite some time and I was happy to finally convince Mr. T to drive all the way to Kapitolyo in Pasig for our Sunday brunch that time. :)

A view of the whole place including my breakfast buddies. :)

Fambam Hits: LōLa Café & Bar

There is no excuse for a late post so I'll just skip the whole part where I will tell that the reason of this post being a week too late was because I got sick for days and all that stuff. No I won't tell you that. I'll just go straight to blogging about our lovely afternoon visit at  LōLa Café & Bar.

Right before our errands two weekends ago, we went to visit  LōLa for some merienda. I'm gonna blame it on Google Maps for making us miss the place because the pin was very inaccurate. Like two blocks inaccurate. I was totally relying on it and didn't realize we already passed the place.

Good thing the place was located within the residential neighborhood along Sct. Lozano, going back didn't take too long. We found ourselves entering what felt like the house of your Tita who just came from the States and invited you over for lunch. Lol at the description but that's how it felt. I can also imagine this place after office hours, hanging out with friends over a few cocktails or cocktails would be fun in a cozy setup such as LōLa's.

The al fresco dining area

The upper level which is the dining area.

Fambam Hits: la Creperie San Juan

Our little fambam of three enjoys spending the  weekend bonding over food. Yes, even our 10-month-old little miss A is already a foodie. :D

So for our Sunday's foodie adventure, we went on a quick drive to San Juan to visit a quaint little place called La Creperie. 

The entrance to La Creperie

I love all things pretty and dainty, and this place has just the right amount of both. It's perfect for a simple family lunch to a romantic dinner date for two.

"All we need id Love, and Paris." | Second Level of La Creperie

Their second level, which can comfortably fit 20-30 people, can also accomodate intimate gatherings with families and friends.

Ezio Turned One

Oh wow, less than a month since my blog went online and I'm already delayed with my posts. Ha! :P But always better than nothing, eh? :D

We braved the looming wrath of Typhoon Maring before it hit the metro a couple of weeks ago to attend Ezio's first birthday party. :) Ezio is the first born of EF and Shiela, our friends from college. Didn't realize that we've known each other for more than 10 years already. From our inuman whatevers, here we are now, attending each other's weddings, baby christenings and now birthday parties. Ayayay, how time flies.

Sharing some photos from the party. :)

Fambam Hits: Mom and Tina's

Mr. T and I have been foodies ever since, food is our guilty pleasure. It slowed down because of pregnancy restrictions but we were still hunting for hole in the wall places every now and then. I remember during our 7th month when big meaty burgers were my cravings, we drove to Taft after a storm just to get a taste of Zark's Burger.

Me and my fatty face posing with the Jawbreaker

Fast-forward to today, now that we have A, it became more fun. Since she already eats, she can now enjoy our little fambam's bonding over food, which usually happens during weekends. :)