Franny Mommy Finds : SM Baby Company's #CrazyBabySale

Truth to be told, I have never been one who loves to shop. In fact, my sister would often tease me that I "shop like a man" because I would just go in a store, get the items that I need and be out of there in less than 30 minutes. I guess, it's also because I have the tendency to decide fast so I pretty much know what I need and that's the only thing that I'd make sure to get.

However, since I became a Mom, I would catch myself buying random things from clothes to accessories to bibs to utensils and more. I know I also have to stick to what we need but whenever I'd spot an opportunity to buy the things that my twins love, I am always ready and willing to do so. Be it their favorite rice cracker snack or another bottle or nipple for them to use, my weakness has been matchy matchy clothes for my twins which, believe me, is so hard to find!

The same goes for sales and discounts. Paul and I are always on a look out for sale promotions as it's really not a joke buying double the number of diapers or wet wipes as compared to other parent. So, when we found out that Baby Company was having a sale over the weekend. We braved the Friday traffic and made our way to the SMX Convention Center at MOA. Luckily, we got there around lunch time so the crowd wasn't too bad. In fact, we got in without having to queue up. The first thing that I did was to pull out my Mom Card. This will allow me to earn points and if I reach Php. 3000, I get a cute emoji power bank too!

Here are some of the booths that we made sure to visit during the sale. These are definitely not new to this blog as we have been using these mostly since the twins were born and we loved them!

The first stop was Tiny Buds for our dishwashing liquid. I love the Twiga Thank You Wall which reminds me so much of L who loves loves loves Twiga!

Foodie Finds at the MaARTe at the Pen (Year 2)

Last Friday, Paul and I went on a Mommy and Daddy date. Thankfully, we were able to drop the twins off at my in laws who willingly watched over them while we went around town to do our errands. On our way home, Paul and I decided to drop by The Peninsula Manila as we remembered that it was the opening day of our friend G's MaArte at the Pen. We've been wanting to go since last year but as I was already asked to be on house arrest about this time last year as I was already on my last trimester with my twins then thus I had to wait one whole year to be able to check it out.

Admittedly, Paul doesn't always like accompanying me to fairs like these as he knows that the items being sold are mostly for women and since I'd need some time to go through each booth, he normally ends up being super bored or sleepy...or bored AND sleepy. Luckily, I was pretty confident that he'll enjoy checking this year's fair out with me as they got a section dedicated just for men.

I was surprised to enter the beautiful hotel lobby and noticed that the lobby cafe was packed. Yes, it was a weekday and each table was taken by groups having their afternoon tea. Wow! I should go back and have tea there sometime. Apparently, the hotel is also having an ongoing promotion in line with the MaARTe Fair called the MaArTEA Afternoon Tea which will run up until the end of the month. For Php. 1250 per head, each guest gets a serving of their choice of Tsaa Laya tea such as Tropical Summer (my favorite), Pandan, Lemon Ginger and more. To go with it, they'll be served with a mix of sweet and savory treats such as Poached Prawn Salad, Lemongrass Panna Cotta, Davao Chocolate Ginger Mousse, Peninsula's signature English Raisin Scones with pots of Dalandan Curd, Baguio Strawberry Jam and Clotted Cream. The best part is that parts of the profit will go to the Museum Foundation of the Philippines. Since we just had a really having lunch, we opted to skip tea but I hope I'll be able to go back there before the month ends and enjoy this with my family.

That said, we climbed the stairs up to the 2nd floor where G was waiting for us. After a quick hi and hello with lots of hugs as I haven't seen her for soooo long! We made our way in. The first stop was what they call the Pinoy Man Cave. The place just for the male shoppers. It occupies a small space as compared to the rest of the tenants found in the fair but hey, it wasn't too bad for starters. One booth that Paul loved was Siklo Pilipinas. He was so amazed by the rubber bags which were made using upcycled rubber tires. For someone who adores cars like him, he really wanted to get a nice big backpack only he couldn't choose which design to get. Luckily, they sell weekly at the Legazpi Sunday Market so looks like we will be heading there soon.

Chocolate Inception : Le Sucre Lab's Chocolate Dream Cake

Sweet dreams are indeed made of these. It's the kind that comes in pretty copper tin cans and when you open it, nope! it's not your grandmother's sewing kit, but a mouthwatering chocolate inception-like cake. It's chocolate over chocolate over chocolate over more chocolate.

Don't believe me? Read on... 

I first heard about Le Sucre Lab's Chocolate Dream Cake (Php. 475) from @masarapba on Instagram. It's this funny, super duper witty yet completely anonymous Instagram account that gives you the lowdown on the yummiest and not so yummiest food in the metro. You get honest-to-goodness reviews that's written in a really funny tone. I haven't met the person behind this handle yet he/she/it (yes, the account once claimed that it's actually a plant) but I've tried some of the recommended items and I was really impressed with her taste. From Tender Juicy Chick n Cheese Hotdogs to which Paul can't understand why I suddenly came home from a quick grocery run one day with 3 packs of hotdogs, to these Dream Cakes that I've been wanting to buy but the shop is just too far from me and I rarely get to go to that part of town to even make a side trip. 

Franny Mommy : On being the Best Mom #BestBeginsNow

It finally happened.

Yaya D left us last Sunday. After 8 months of being our helping hand in watching over my twins. She left. The downside? She left without a proper notice..much less without even saying good bye. *sigh*

My pride and joy ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I won't lie. My heart sank when I read her vague message of her telling me that she won't come back from her supposed 3 days day off as she wanted to rest some more. Her excuse? She got a really painful lump in her throat and according to her, it's making it really hard for her to breathe. Well, I asked my brother-in-law E who's an ENT to look into this week ago when she first complained about it and he saw...nothing. Absolutely nothing. A quick check on her Facebook page over the weekend also saw her singing her heart out with her boyfriend. For somebody who has a lump on her throat, it's amazing how she can still belt out those high tunes. Well, at first, I panicked. Then I felt really sad. More than the frightening thought that I'll temporarily lose my freedom as I need to attend to my twins 24/7, it's the thought that my twins might suddenly notice that "someone" is missing. Luckily, they're too young to identify specific people much less say who's who except for Mama and Dada (thank God!) but I was worried that J, most especially, might look for her. Thankfully, he didn't. Later on, my sadness turned to anger. I felt really betrayed on how she just ended her tenure with us. Apparently, she brought along quite a lot of clothes when she went out for her day off last Saturday and of course, since I trusted her already, I didn't bothered to check her bag. Yaya D, to us, was like family. We made sure to treat her really well (bordering spoiling her) and I, for one, saw her as my partner in caring for my twins. It's unfortunate that she just burned the bridge with one impulsive, very irresponsible act.

If there's one thing that I've learned for being yaya-less for a couple of days now, I realized that nannies and helpers will come and go. They can leave you with proper notice, they can leave you without any warning, some might have to be asked to leave if they did something fishy but no matter what, we can never be fully dependent on them. I guess, I'm glad that Paul and I have been really hands-on parents to our twins since Day 1. Remember how our first nanny also ditched us during their 1st month of life so Yaya D's departure wasn't something new to us. It was probably doubly exhausting but definitely not shocking. I remembered one thing that a friend told me: "No matter what, we, as parents should be the constant figures in our children's lives."

All my life, I've always been a perfectionist. It really comes hand in hand with my OCD nature. I've always strive to do things perfectly, hoping that it was done at the perfect time, with a perfect strategy. With everything I do, I have the tendency to put all my heart into it so when things do not go as planned, it really hurts so much.

I've always wanted to be a Mom. While others might have dreams of being a flight attendant, a marine biologist, going to the moon, being some kiss-ass entrepreneur or a corporate giant walking down the streets of NYC, my dream was pretty simple. I just wanted to have a family and be the best mom that I can be.

So, when I finally delivered my twins 9 months ago, that moment was indeed a dream come true for me. Since that day forward, I promised myself that I will try to be the best version of a mom that I can be. Whether it's staying up to nurse them or carrying them in my arms all night when they're down with a stuffy nose or playing and singing songs to them or making silly, funny faces to hear them chuckle. Hearing them call out to "Mama" is enough to make my heart swell and to give me that validation that I might be doing things right, after all.

#FrannyCooks : Sardines Croquette with King Cup Sardines

Sardines is probably one of those canned goods that I don't think I'll get ever tired of having. That and corned beef. Oh, and also some real good luncheon meat. It has been my fallback food on days when I'm just too lazy to think of what to have for lunch or dinner or when I'm feeling extra picky about the food that's on the table. I personally like my sardines with sunny-side up egg. Regardless if it's the one with tomato sauce, chili tomato sauce or olive oil, I'd happily go for any of those. So, when I got a bag filled with cans of sardines, I wasted no time and I started cooking.

I've been wanting to experiment with sardines for a long time now. Other than to just saute this with garlic, onions and to served is as is, I wonder if potato would go well with sardines too. Here's my personal creation using the basic croquette recipe which I jazzed up a bit more to complement the sardines that I have on hand. One thing that I love about this dish is how easy it is that it will take you less than an hour to prepare and cook. You can also freeze the patties and prepare them later on which makes it a good baon option. 

Sardines Croquette

Yield: 20 pieces

Franny Mommy Favorites : Little Bondi Accessories

I've always wanted to have a little girl.

I guess it's because I grew up without a brother and even my extended family has more females than males. Perhaps, it's because I've always dreamt of dressing my little girl up, going twinning with her and someday, we would go shopping and have our mani/pedi sessions together. My prayers were indeed answered as L was given to me along with her twin brother J. I'm truly grateful. ♥

From the time my twins were born, I really enjoy dressing them up. Making them go matchy matchy regardless if it's the same design or even with the color of their onesies. L, in particular has shown so much happiness and appreciation for all things beautiful. She's the type of baby who enjoys dressing up and when we would take her ribbon or headband out, she'd start to complain.

So, when I got a surprise package from Little Bondi one rainy afternooon, I excitedly brought it up for L to see. As expected, her big round eyes brightened as soon as I opened the package and revealed the contents inside. She got new headbands again and I love how pretty they were! One thing that I noticed is the band. It's made out of very soft elastic band that surely won't hurt her fragile scalp. I also love how the designs are simple yet classy. It matches L's girly-girl personality.

Boarcher Cebu Lechon is now in Manila

There's a new kid in town and I'm pretty sure you'll like "him" very much. After all... who says no to Lechon?

Aside from the ever popular Adobo which is probably the dish that's synonymous to Filipino cooking, Lechon remains to be one that never fails to make every Filipino and non-Filipino's heart skip a beat. From the shiny, mouth-watering crunchy skin down to its fragrant and tender meat, I remember making several visits with my local colleagues and friends to this famous Cebu Lechon stall in Paya Lebar in Singapore whenever they'd ask me to take them to try a Filipino dish.

In fact, there are several versions of lechon all over the country. Some would serve it with sarsa (sauce), others would stuff it with aromatic tanglad (lemongrass), my talented friend D has her classy Lechon with Truffle Rice inside and well in Cebu, it's serve just as it is. The meat has a hint of salt and the skin slightly thick with a layer of fat underneath and the best way to enjoy this is to simply have it with rice. Even the late Anthony Bourdain proclaimed Cebu lechon to be the "best pig ever."

So, imagine the excitement that we had here at home when we got two cute wooden plates of lechon from Boarcher Lechon. Hailing from the Queen City of the South, Cebu, Boarcher Lechon is finally here in Manila and they're ready to delivery freshly roasted native lechon straight to your doorstep.