Yesterday, my husband and I finally found the time to go out for lunch and a movie. We decided to try out one of the new restaurants at Festival Mall’s River Park.
The first restaurant that caught our eye was Mati’s Meat and Bread. We glanced at the menu displayed out front and decided to try their steak.
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.
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?
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.
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!
I woke up still sleepy from working a few extra hours last night. My head was killing me and my back hurt, probably because I was sleeping in an awkward position to make way for Ethan.
Tch. Bed-hogger.
He wasn’t there when I woke up, meaning someone let him out of the room while I was asleep. It was most likely my mom – we’re spending a few days here at my parents’ house – and she’s always excited to greet Ethan in the morning. I dragged myself out of bed and made my way out of the bedroom. As soon as I opened the door, I saw Ethan with my mom’s maid sitting on the couch watching TV. When I greeted him and turned to head to the bathroom, he stood up in a hurry and ran after me – crying!
We were so surprised because he’s not like that, I mean, he’s clingy but not THAT clingy! I told him to wait for me because I had to use the bathroom, which of course, he understood PERFECTLY, and stepped into the bathroom with me. Haha. My mom pulled him back so I could use the bathroom and do my business, and he cried even more! Goodness, where did that come from?! When I opened the bathroom door, he clung to my legs and would not let go!
So I was walking back to the bedroom with this 13 kilo bed-hogger strapped to my leg. Everyone was laughing because he looked so silly, but when I looked down he was dead serious and did not want to let go. Soon after we were jumping on the bed, taking selfies and laughing hysterically at our silly antics, and all was well with the world.
Too sweet.
Ethan’s a sweet little guy – he loves kisses and hugs and putting stuff on my head pretending they’re all hats . But I’ve never seen him get upset over something like what happened this morning. Was he just being sweet for wanting to be next to me? Or should I just call it as it is – clingy? I guess it’s just one of those days. He’s not that clingy when I leave him to run errands or go on movie dates with my husband. In fact, he doesn’t make a scene. So yeah, just one of those days.
How about you, mommies? Any clingy moments with your kids lately?
Yesterday, the biggest blogger event of the year took place at SMX SM Aura, and I was so excited to be a part of the 700 bloggers who were invited to join. Yes, I’m talking about Blogapalooza 2014!
Blogapalooza 2014 was organized by the people behind When In Manila and Our Awesome Planet to bring brands and influencers together. Indeed, bloggers got to interact with different brands, participate in activities and games, and bring home bags of freebies and prizes!