Happy Birthday Dylan!

March 18, 2012

This may sound funny but last week we were at UP for Patrick's photo shoot.  When we asked Dylan what he wanted to do for his birthday, he told us he wanted to go biking at UP again.  So, the birthday boy got his wish.  We went back to UP and took the kids biking again. :D






















After a few satisfying runs along the street, everyone was  tired and needed a rest.  Fortunately, there was a Mamang Sorbetero selling dirty ice cream :) It was such a treat having something so cold and yummy after the bike runs.  It also takes Patrick and I to our childhood of  visits to the park.  Such simple pleasures are truly to be treasured.

Naturally, after all that exercise, we were ravenous and Rodic's is the best place to satisfy our hunger :) Though we just had Tapsilog from the same place the previous week, we still want more!!! :D

After, I cooked Dylan's favorite pasta for dinner.  If I cooked chili prawns for Dana, Dylan also deserves my cooking :) And of course, pasta is my other specialty hahahaha  I guess you could say I had a few satisfied customers that night LOL

Dylan, my baby boy, it's tough that you're beset by your slight AD/HD and speech problems.  It's tough having to learn and it's tough on me to teach you as well.  But I'm proud that we're pulling through it together, that I see a lot of improvement.  I'm also fascinated by how your mind works, how you perceive things.  You're no ordinary son, that's for sure and you make me happy in ways that I simply cannot count.  Happy Birthday!  We love you!!

Tagging along on a Photoshoot for Top Gear Philippines

March 10, 2012

In Patrick's line of work, sometimes you have to compromise and combine work with pleasure, especially when he has to work during the weekends.  On this day, he was scheduled to interview a cousin, Jan Paul (technically he is my uncle by blood relation but he's younger than me so we just call each other cousins for simplicity), because his car will be featured in the magazine for their Japanese Issue.

So, while they're busy with their work, the kids were busy with riding their bikes and just having a terrific time.  You don't have to worry about them bumping into other bikes like you would if you go to Quezon Memorial Circle.  You also won't worry about other cars passing even though technically we're in the parking lot.  It's just nice to be out and about in the park, enjoying the sun and the breeze, eating your morning taho.

I love this shot :)

Love the sun on her face :)

 What better way to end the photo shoot/bike trip than with tapsilog at Rodic's :)

Happy Birthday Dana!

March 03, 2012

Happy birthday to my first born, to my only daughter, Dana! :) In life, we're not always as blessed as the year before so we do what we can to make our children's birthdays still special despite the slight budget.  I'm just fortunate that my kids, both Dana and Dylan, do not expect parties and grand events to celebrate their birthdays.

For breakfast, we wanted to surprise her with something that she loves.  So here - Jollibee pancakes! We just forgot to open the packs before taking the pics LOL

For lunch, I prepared her favorite - chili garlic prawns and that was a feast in itself.  :)

To cap the day, we had Pizza Hut delivered for dinner.  Nothing beats the taste of Coca-Cola too :)  It's also special because they're not supposed to drink Coke but it's a rare occasion so there :)

I look forward and will definitely treasure all the other milestones that are sure to come your way.  You're such a bright and intelligent girl (can't believe you came from us!) so we really are lucky to have you in our lives.

WE LOVE YOU AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Welcome to the World, Olivia Tracy!

February 26, 2012

Now, if you read my previous blog posts (click here and here), you know that we've had a pretty busy day yesterday.  So, when we got home in the evening, everyone just wanted to rest and relax so it was pretty early when everyone had gone to sleep.

I got woken up at 5AM by Den who said that she was already having contractions and that they were becoming painful.  That shook the sleepiness and the groggy-feeling right out of my body! :D It was a good thing that she was packed and ready to go to the hospital so it was just a matter of finding a taxi to get to the hospital.  Patrick had to stay home for the kids who were still asleep.

So, by 530AM we were at the hospital, she was admitted to the Labor Room while I was outside arranging for her room and just basically texting my brother and sister (Den's mom) about the news.

By around 7PM, I was just bored to death because I forgot to bring a book with me so I just took photos of the room where she will be staying.  It's a ward for 4 people but it seemed like a private room since there was no one in it but her anyway.

I was surprised when they brought in this set of breakfast.  I thought it was for Den but when I checked, it was for me woohoo! The longganisa was really good.  It didn't matter that I had no utensils hahaha I used my hands and I was so messy because I'm not used to eating barehanded hahahaha

Around lunchtime, Den hasn't come back yet and the rest of the family had arrived.  Sofia was content playing under the bed.

At around 1230, we got the call that Oliva Tracy was born and that she was in the nursery.  Naturally, we all trooped downstairs like mad men earning evil stares from the nurses on the floor :D So, here she is, Olivia Tracy weighing 2.7 kilos and 51 cms long.

Congrats Den! You're now a mother.  It's time to grow, be mature and think a little less of yourself and more of your child. :)

Dropping by R & J Bulalohan, Tapsilogan atbp

One of the nicest things about having a car is that you can just take off at the drop of a hat.  Well, that's exactly what happened today.  After an exhilarating time eating at Dampa with Sharon and her family, Patrick and I decided to go out and have dinner at R & J Bulalohan in Mandaluyong after seeing its reviews on TV.

But first, we had to drop by Ford Club Philippines' 10th Anniversary at the Fort in Taguig, Metro Manila.  Naturally, it was a photo opportunity waiting to happen :)  After Patrick was done with his work and the kids had ample time to go around and check the cars out, we all went to R&J Bulalohan in Mandaluyong.

For some time, Patrick had heard of R & J Bulalohan from his friends at work and we recently saw it featured in a foodie TV show which really piqued our curiosity.  So, since there was an opportunity, we grabbed it.    R & J Bulalohan is located along Bonifacio Avenue, just around the City Hall roundabout, in Mandaluyong.  It's famous for its Bulalo (of course!) and people from everywhere really make it a point to drop by and enjoy the food here.  Parking may be a problem though as they don't have a huge parking lot.  Here's a map to guide you.

We ordered Bulalo Regular (special is the one with brains and we didn't really fancy that haha).  We also ordered lumpiang shanghai for the kids, some fried tofu and lots of rice.  The bulalo comes with unlimited refills of soup so that's a good thing.  They said that the bulalo we ordered was good for 2-3 people, but I think it can only fill one really hungry person.  The meat wasn't really filling because the bone was bigger hehehe but the soup was really excellent.  Add 4 bottles of soda and our bill was only under P500! :D

The place is nowhere near fine dining.  It is open-air and you share your environment with people drinking beer and singing videoke.  If you're not too fond of smoking, you need to find seats far from the crowd.  The service is fast though and the crew is pleasant enough.  The bathroom leaves a lot to be desired but if you're desperate, no questions asked, right? ;)

Celebrating Sharon's birthday

In our family, we hardly celebrate birthdays but we never forget to greet our family members on the day itself.  I guess it comes from having limited funds most of the time so the funds get earmarked for something else.  But sometimes, it happens when there's a windfall and we do get a chance to go out and have lunch somewhere.

Such is the case when my sister Sharon had her birthday this year.  When I greeted her on Facebook, I jokingly asked her if we can eat at Dampa along Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay.  It was a place we've always wanted to go to but never found the opportunity to do so.  Now, Sharon gives me a call and tells me that we were indeed going ahead with the plan.  Imagine my joy! hahaha Now, for those who aren't aware what Dampa is, it's actually a wet market where you can buy fresh seafoods at really low prices.  After you buy them, there are restaurants just a few steps away where you can go to and have them cook your food for you in whatever way you want.  For instance, if you buy prawns and go to the resto, you can have them cook part of it for sinigang and another part for chili garlic prawns.  There's a cooking charge for every dish that you have them cook.

We were running a little late because Bourne Legacy was shooting and they closed down some roads which led to all traffic right in front of our place.   As you can see, A.H. Lacson literally looked like a parking lot  for cargo trailers and trucks.  Normally, you wouldn't see trucks on the service road.  They usually took the flyover.  This is how bad it got.

It took us so long to even get out of the garage because the trucks wouldn't give way.  After a harrowing exit from the garage gate, we were finally on our way.






Sharon and the family were ahead of us at the resto so they were already able to buy from the market and have it cooked while waiting for us.  We stayed at the Sharmila restaurant.  They ordered chili garlic prawns, adobong pusit, crabs, sweet and sour lapu-lapu, baked clams and lots of rice and Coke :)  Can you say I'm in heaven hahaha

Even with all the food in front of me, I only actually ate the prawns and had a little taste of the steamed lapu-lapu :) I really love prawns so I literally feasted on them hahahaha

Dana loved the adobong pusit and Patrick loved the mussels :)  Den also ate a lot of the prawns hahaha

Like mother, like daughter :)

Loanzon kids

Jowell and Sharon

Mother and daughter

Sisters and cousins

Bulalohan at N. Ramirez

It's always a pleasure when members of the family simply drop by the house for now particular reason.  It was that way today when Sharon, Jowell and Sofia came to the house just to check up on Den and how she was doing with her pregnancy.  Their short visit ultimately led to us waiting for Dana to finish with school so we can fetch her and proceed directly to the Bulalohan sa N. Ramirez.  We were all excited because it's always nice to discover new places to eat and this time we're eating for free hahahaha

As I write this, I googled a bit about the resto.  It's actually located at 55 N. Ramirez Street, Galas, Quezon City.  If I remember correctly, it's very near UDMC if you're coming from Espana.  I didn't really have any expectations about the food and it was Jowell who took care of the ordering.  We ordered the special bulalo (loved the soup!), chicken barbeque for the kiddies, laing (very spicy), and kalderetang baka.  I wasn't able to take too many pictures because handling the kids took much of my time hahaha Here they are having their pictures taken near the aquarium with an alligator fish (or something like that).  They were actually more interested in the aquarium than with the food hahahha

After downing extra servings of rice and our tummies full to perfection, we headed to the hospital for Den's check-up.  :)