Christmas is a few weeks away and I’m nowhere near done with my gift shopping. One thing I notice during this time of the year is that I’m always busy carefully listing and buying gifts for family and friends, but whenever someone asks me what I want for Christmas, my mind goes blank! I could never answer promptly because I really don’t give it much thought. Imagine how difficult it is for my husband to buy me a gift.
This year, I decided to sit down and list the things I want for Christmas. Sure, I won’t be able to buy all of them, but at least now I clearly know what I want and I can just save up for the others next year.
After we got married, my husband and I first lived in a small apartment in Pasay. We thought it would be enough for the both of us, but as we kept buying new stuff the place started to shrink. I couldn’t imagine living there now with Ethan’s mountain of toys, clothes and other baby stuff.
Since then, the words “storage solutions’ became common in my Google searches. However, no matter how many tips I pinned on Pinterest and bookmarked in Google, they didn’t all work with our apartment.
We now live in a two bedroom home with a nice garden and garage – more space to pile all our stuff. LOL. But seriously though, as Ethan grows up we will definitely need more space, there’s also the possibility of adding a new family member in the future. It’s not like we can rent or buy a bigger house just like that!
Surely some of you moms can relate to me, right? I feel that I have this sacred task of making sure the house does not turn into a warehouse one day. That’s why I always keep an eye out for storage solutions and dual-purpose furniture that doesn’t compromise style. So when I came across Miss Spacemaker at the recent Baby and Family Expo 2014, I felt that I just had to tell all my fellow storage-solution-obsessed moms (seriously, someone please tell me I’m not the only one) about her and what she does.
Miss Spacemaker creates stylish and affordable furniture that maximizes available space. Whether you are in dire need of clever storage solutions or if you just have a penchant for functional yet lovely wooden furniture, then the Miss is your gal.
Before anything else, let me set your expectations that I am not a kitchen diva and I have never baked anything without the assistance of my brother who bakes cakes for a living. I love eating cakes, not making them. I used to say the same thing about cooking, but ever since I got married I took it upon myself to learn, otherwise we’d be eating corned beef and hotdogs for the rest of our lives!
Last October, I received a sweet stash of Maya Hotcake Mix from the Mommy Blogger Philippines Halloween Party. I LOVE PANCAKES! When I was pregnant with Ethan, I constantly craved them.
Maya Hotcake Mix variants
Weeks passed and I realized that these boxes of pancake mix were still in my kitchen cupboard, untouched. I couldn’t find myself in the mood to cook pancakes, and if I did make some I was pretty sure we wouldn’t be able to finish them all, and they’d just go to waste. My husband is not a big fan of pancakes, and I can’t finish them all on my own.
Then a thought occurred to me. What if I baked them instead? Into muffins! It’s not an original idea, I know, but I thought it was a perfect way to use my pancake mix stash.
My brother told me it was possible, the only problem was that I had no oven to bake them in! Drat, I thought. Then I remembered that I have a turbo broiler, I mean, it’s technically an oven, right? So I asked my brother again, and he agreed that I could bake them in the turbo broiler but he wasn’t sure about the temperature and time. At this point, I just told myself that I had enough pancake mix to experiment with, so what was I waiting for?
Yesterday, I visited SMX MOA for the launching of the 2nd Baby and Family Expo Philippines. I was invited to attend the ribbon cutting and opening ceremony that morning and I’m glad that despite the traffic I made it in time for the program. As soon as I arrived, a good number of visitors have already gathered at the entrance to Hall 1 of SMX MOA, where the 2nd Baby and Family Expo will be held for three days.
On December 5, 2014, Friday, the BABY & FAMILY EXPO PHILIPPINES (BFEP) 2014 – “Shop + Learn “+ Play”, the biggest family event of the year, was officially launched at SMX Convention Center Manila, Hall 1, Pasay City. On its second year, the best baby, kids, pregnancy and parenting products and services were all gathered in one place.
Gracing the ribbon cutting and opening ceremony was Department of Health Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag, who shared guidelines on building happy, healthier families. Johnson & Johnson’s Dr. Tricia Subido shared with the parents how to choose what’s best for their babies. Also, present during the event were Joana Marie Benitez, Agency Recruitment and Licensing of Sun Life Financial; Mark Salecina, Marketing Support Manager for Tupperware Brands Philippines; and Juan Carlos Villacis, Strategic Development Director of Coca Cola FESMA Philippines, The Voice Philippines’ Thor Dulay and many more.
The Ribbon Cutting CeremonyKeynote Speaker DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag shows his dance moves
Highlight of the opening ceremony was the BFEP Brand Awards 2014, a recognition of distinguished brands who continue to manifest excellence in the baby, kids, pregnancy and parenting industry. Included in the roster of awardees for Innovative Product Awards were: Mustella (Best Maternity Products), Federated Distributors Inc. (MamyPoko & Evian) (Best Baby Care Products), Tula Baby (Best Baby Travel Gear), Miss Space Maker (Best Baby Bedding and Furniture), Learning Way (Best Educational Product), and St. Patrick (Best Baby and Children Apparels and Accessories). Special recognitions were given to the top eight brands for providing quality products in making Filipino lives better. Top Brand awardees include: Baby Mama (Maternity Products), Johnson & Johnson (Baby Care Products), Fursys (Baby Bedding and Furniture), Bebecom (Baby Travel Gears), AKa International Limited (Baby and Children Apparels and Accessories), Fatty Brain Toys (Baby Toys), Grolier International (Educational Products), and Stabilo (Arts and Crafts)
From December 5-7, 2014, the whole family can avail of exclusive promotions from over 100 exhibiting stores and brands. BFEP is provide parents and expecting parents tips and trends from industry experts on various topics such as pregnancy, newborns, infants, toddlers, kids and parenting in the form of seminars, workshops, company presentations and interactive activities. One of the highlights of the event is the Philippine Family Summit on the second day of the expo. The summit will focus on the four pillars that will help build a happy family home – financial wellness, good health, excellent education and lasting relationships. Moreover, children can enjoy interactive activities, exciting games, as well as the various attractions inside the hall, including, Toy Museum, World of Science, Arts & Crafts Studio, Face Painting Station, Wonderland Playground and many more.
“This 2014 we are glad to showcase 10 international exhibitors with more innovative products and services, as well as educational seminars, games, magic shows and a large playground area to be enjoyed by all the kids. We are looking forward to further promote and grow the industry and provide quarterly educational parenting events in 2015,” said David Abrenilla, founder and managing director of Baby & Family Expo Philippines and CEO of MEDIACOM SOLUTIONS, INC.
Baby & Family Expo Philippines is organized by MEDIACOM SOLUTIONS INC., a specialized trade marketing, business community building company and a professional exhibition and convention organizer in the Philippines. The event is supported by the Department of Health, New Born Screening Reference Center, Philippine Ambulatory Pediatrics Association, SOS Children Villages Philippines; and sponsored by Wilkins Water, Tupperware Brands, Johnson & Johnson, The Medical City, Sun Life Financial, Philippine Airlines and Manulife.
To visit the Baby & Family Expo 2014 on December 05-07, 2014 at Hall 1, SMX Convention Center Manila, Pasay City, register for FREE at www.babyexpo.ph. Connect via Facebook at #/BabyExpoPh and follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BabyExpoPH.
Please look forward to my next post as I tell you more about my visit to the first day of the Baby and Family Expo 2014!
