TATAY'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Today is Tatay's birthday and we celebrated simply at home surrounded by relatives with good food and fun-filled kwentuhan...here is the pic of the food we shared, of course, I did not cook any of it hehehe...suffice it to say I was just there to give moral support to his sisters who got busy with the cooking. Happy birthday Tay!

SAM’S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Sam turned seven today and in a way it was a reunion of sorts... because my long-time college friend Mia came (she is also a friend of my brother and my two sisters...it's a long story how but it just is) then an aunt who had long been 'missing in action' in some of our family gatherings arrived with her kids in tow and we we were quite glad to see her. We all chipped in something just to ensure that Sam’s birthday will be really special! The night before, I went off in search of bread sticks, marshmallows and choc-o sticks just for my special contribution for Sam’s party – his very own choco fountain! Ma cooked some spaghetti and fried chicken for the kids…and we all went there at around 4pm to have fun with Sam and his friends. His mom Vanj was here in Manila and she prepared a few somethings too and some of the other guests brought some cake and ice cream… I know what we shared was just simple things but collectively I am sure we made one little boy’s day truly special…Happy Birthday Sam!

P.S. Credits go to Vanj for the photos that I grabbed from her FB account.

DITSE'S BIRTHDAY

Today is Ditse’s birthday and as our way of showing our gratitude for everything that she has done for us…we always celebrate it with cake and a special dinner. Of course, it cannot be helped that she had to cook some of the dishes herself, but most of the time, we buy her something special like cake or lechon manok or liempo or siomai…to save her the effort of cooking everything by herself. Sometimes, we also invite her children to spend the day with her…to give them time to spend together…but with their very busy lives, they rarely are able to come. And so this year, it was just us…I just hope she felt special even for just one day…

1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR NICOLE

One of our pamangkins will be celebrating her birthday today…and so to celebrate her special day we bought a little something from the grocery last night. After all, it is not every day that a girl gets to spend her first birthday and so we want to make this day special for her even in our own little way.

GET-TOGETHER FOR JANUARY BIRTHDAY CELEBRANTS

After eating our breakfast, we got ready to leave for Papa’s condo in Makati for our monthly get-together for January birthday celebrants…we were a bit late but not very late! Coz when we arrived at around 12:30, another aunt and my stepmom’s daughter had also just arrived. But all the rest of the clan, including my Uncle-general who rarely makes an appearance here in Manila, is present. Hail! Hail! The gang’s all here! And so just like most of our family’s get-togethers – we gorged ourselves sick with food and more food! While chatting away the afternoon and watching TV/movies and making small talk about anyone and just about everyone! Once again my dad’s condo suddenly seemed too small to fit in all of us – just check out the pic of the birthday celebrants ---can you imagine that’s just five of them and see how big they all are… then, how about the rest of the clan??? Well, we’re still OK naman since we could squat and sit just about anywhere to eat and talk and even sleep… Suffice it to say we went home all quite satiated with the food and company we shared – all our favorite’s were there - pancit palabok, crispy alimasag, sugpo, grilled pork and chicken, and my personal all time fave – PINK SALMON SASHIMI! Sorry…no pics! No time na e…but most of all, I’m glad for the time well-spent with my relatives…it was fun and definitely an afternoon well-spent! Till next kita-kits of the clan…I promise to post more food and people pics next time!

10TH BIRTHDAY AT BATAAN

For this year, the family decided to spend my daughter’s tenth birthday at the same place that our office and the hubby’s office had an outing, at Bagac, Bataan. The resort was not really top notch but the entrance was relatively cheap and even the rental for the huts too. This is something that we need considering that we were almost 50 in all! Imagine that! But let me backtrack a bit, on Friday night which is actually my little girl’s birthday, we got home at around 9 p.m. bringing cake and spaghetti for her and her cousins to partake. Then after some small talk, we all slept excited for the big day ahead of us.

The next day, I was awake with the others at 3 am to cook our breakfast (rice only since the viands had been cooked the night before) We finally left at 6 and after a long two-hour drive (the others rode in the truck that a cousin uses for his sand/gravel delivery business), we reached Bataan by 8:30 a.m. Upon arrival, we ate breakfast of adobo and bangus, and just now realized that there are a total of 47 people that came with us so the 3K adobo did not at all suffice! The longganisa took so long to cook so the others made do with the nilagang itlog. I just ate fruits that we bought along the way.

By ten after the kids had their fill of the beach and eating, we hopped off on a boat to go to the white sand beach where they can truly swim to their hearts content. Only Ditse, Inang and Esto and his family were left behind to cook our lunch. Esto got left behind since he lost his glasses in the big waves of the beach, I told him he would enjoy the calmer waters of the white beach but was hesitant as he didn’t know how to swim. We reached the white beach and the water was still calm but then the beach itself was a bit littered and muddy…well, too bad but still the kids enjoyed swimming and having photo ops.

We left the place at a past 12 and wanted to pass by the cave and go cliff diving but it was not meant to be since the sea was so rough, the boat can’t get near to dock…oh dear, it would have been Kuya’s dream to take his friends and cousins there. Just too bad! And so we headed back to Bagac beach and ate lunch upon arrival. After eating, the kids went back and hit the water since they knew it would be quite awhile before they can get anywhere near the sea once again. I, too went back to swim after I tried to sleep and can’t!

I guess in all everyone enjoyed spending time on the beach (our first with the entire clan!) even if there was a shortage of food (well, I was surprised at the number of people that turned up!). Well, it is not every time that they get to see a beach so I guess everyone wanted to go and join the outing. What matters is that everyone had fun (even if the others riding the truck got wet while on the way home coz it rained) It was one outing that I hope to repeat (though not with such a huge number once again) and hope that next time it would even be more manageable and enjoyable for all of us!

MAC’S BIRTHDAY CAKE

It’s a nephew’s birthday today but we didn’t have all that much money and so it was his mom who actually spent for his spaghetti dinner and all that we bought for him really is just the cake. What was just different is the cake that we bought. You see for such a long time we have long been buyers of Red Ribbon cakes but since last year they have not come out with any new flavors and so this time around we decided to go back to an old favorite – Goldilocks. And guess what it seems they have good flavors of cake that we never even knew of. This one that we bought was called Almond Java Mousse and surprisingly it was not so sweet and neither was the cake so spongy. I guess they learned their lesson, you see we have been loyal buyers of Red Ribbon because their cakes are not airy, just full of flavors and very dense/creamy. It’s good that Goldilocks had ventured into these specialty cakes, too, truly one that I would recommend!

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

This entire weekend was spent bonding with family members who celebrated their birthdays in the month of January. First off, we went to my Aunt’s place in Pasig because it was her two kids’ birthday last January 8 and 11. Their party was held on the 14th at around 4pm but it was for the kids’ classmates and so we opted to come a bit later. Anyway, we were commuting since the hubby and Ditse (with son Mac, of course) went home after breakfast. We opted to stay behind and get a bit of studying done before leaving for Pasig at around 3pm. My brother called as we were traveling on a bus and wanted that I pick up his kids. But I can’t do so as I was on a bus with my two kids already.

There was much traffic which made Mike unable to pick us up at the market so we just rode the trike to get there. We arrived at their house at around 6pm and surprisingly there were just a few people milling about. The kids’ classmates have left and only about five kids remained. Auntie Chuchay, Tito Alex and Xuey have arrived but the host of the party was nowhere to be seen. It seems she’s still sleeping upstairs and then took a bath upon waking. It was past 7 pm when she went down and by then, Papa and Tita Espie have already arrived and I fed Kit and Kaye some spaghetti, hotdogs and fried chicken which were served earlier during the children’s party.

After a while, we ate dinner and I felt so full with all the delicious food that Ace has prepared for us - the best was the Bon Chon chicken style chicken that seemed fried with breading then cooked in a sauce that had hoisin and oyster sauce (I think!) I was too excited to eat to take some decent photos …sorry! After eating, the kids took a dip in the pool and by then, Papa was asking me if we could pick up Sam and Chi for Papa’s birthday tomorrow. Anyway, we’ll be coming from Pasig and they think it was a bit near. Well I am not sure if the hubby would agree to that so I told them he would just pick them up tonight after he gets back from Pampanga. I even called the kids’ grandmother to ask permission to get them at such late hour and thankfully she agreed.

It was around 12 midnight when the hubby arrived with only Chi because Sam didn’t want to come and just wanted to sleep. We fed them some leftover dinner first of the remaining pata (it wasn’t crispy but pata tim hehehe) but the bon chon chicken was already gone! But there were still some salad and pasta left over. Well, there were many people in the house (they had a guest from Norway, I believe, Mike’s boss at the farm). We slept in the loft at the children’s room with Kaye. Chi slept by herself on the double deck (coz I was afraid Kaye might fall off) while Nicole and Kevin slept on their big bed with the remaining friend who stayed for the night. Kit, Ace and Mike slept on the sofas downstairs. Before we slept, the hubby and I got to talking and agreed we both liked the design of the loft in the kids’ bedroom so I guess we’d be copying it in the new house we’re planning to build at BP within the year (hopefully!) Well, here are some of the pics that I was able to take…boohoo! No food pics!












PAPA’S BIRTHDAY

The next day, after rummaging around for some breakfast (since the host left us last night to attend a party) and after taking our baths, we left for Papa’s condo in Makati for his birthday party celebration. We took Auntie Jingay’s kids with us since she and Mike would follow us to the condo a bit later (well, he needs to attend to his guest but I think he won’t be able to bring him to Papa’s party because Papa was strict against bringing in strangers since his place is just quite small). The kids took their time getting ready so it was already around 11 when we arrived at the condo but unsurprisingly we were still the first ones there.

We ate some snacks (some nuts, chocolates, candies and other junk food) while waiting for the others to arrive. Then, in a while the food arrived (courtesy of Ate Marisa’s catering) then the lechon arrived too (brought by Dian from Fort Boni) and we finally ate and good thing I was able to get some decent food pics this time hehehe!

A DOUBLE CELEBRATION FOR MY MOTHER’S BDAY AND A SISTER’S DESPEDIDA

We left the house at 11 am to visit Mama at Project 4. We’re having a double celebration of sorts since we’re celebrating her birthday (which is actually last November 3) and also a sister’s despedida since she would be leaving (finally!) for Abu Dhabi tomorrow. Thank God for this since I know she has long wanted to leave. She has been out of a job for a few months already and only last month I learned my brother is financing her visa to go to Abu Dhabi and search for a job there. Good thing too that she was finally able to complete all her requirements (including her school documents which had to be taken from her old school in Bohol) But at least, she can now breathe a sigh of relief that everything is finally in order and she can now leave. I just hope she gets a job soon as she only has one month to go out and search for a job otherwise her visa would expire and she may be forced to return back home…oh no!

We arrived at the house in time for lunch. The pasta was still cooking and my other sister still hasn’t arrived with the cake and so we waited a bit. I served the bbq and inihaw na bangus that we bought from Vanmicks. I went upstairs to help my sis sort out the clothes that she would be bringing. The others she would be giving away but they were all too small for me so I just let her do her thing. Ditse and the kids were in Mama’s room playing and hiding out from Gustav. After a while, when my sister arrived, we went down to eat. We had a fun time just eating and talking but as the usual case when we visit with Mama, there was just no space to hang out and rest after eating and so we are usually left with not much option but to leave early.

My brother called up twice and we were able to thank him early for the advanced Christmas gifts. The TV he gave us was so BIG! And heavy too but it was still a welcome gift nonetheless. He also had some old shoes and pants for my son ad the hubby and some lotion, bath soap and dishwashing liquid for me. He said the real Christmas gifts shall be sent after Christmas, a bit delayed since he needs to save up a bit for it due to the expenses he incurred but that’s OK! What matters is that he’d be sending us more gifts -yippee! Another Santa from the Middle East. Thank you Lord for the blessings!

AFPOVAI for June birthday Kitakits

For the month of June, the clan decided to hold the regular/monthly kitakits for June birthday celebrants at one of our Uncle’s houses at AFPOVAI located at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. I guess it was because Uncle Boy and his wife Mama Carol were here in Manila and as such it would be an opportune time to spend an afternoon with them since they have been based in Cebu after Uncle Boy’s retirement from the military service.

We arrived at AFPOVAI early at 12 and as usual we were the first ones to arrive even if we live so far in the boondocks. But that’s OK coz then we’d have the license to be the first ones to leave din later. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the general, still looking bright and sprightly despite his age. He led us to the sala and offered us drinks, but we told him we were just fine and went on our way through his house just like the regular visitors that we were. The kids and the hubby proceeded upstairs to watch TV in their 40-inch LCD at the entertainment corner. While I went off in search of Mama Carol and Auntie Bebs for some catching up on the happenings in Cebu.





The others arrived in a while and good thing too because we may end up eating all of the lechon ourselves if they don’t arrive soon. The lechon was delivered direct from Cebu so even if the skin was not so crisp anymore - it was truly delish! Aside from lechon, Auntie Chuchay prepared mixed seafood kinilaw, veggie lumpia and chicken teriyaki. Tita E bought hipon and alimasag while Ace cooked his special menudo. There was also Norwegian salmon sashimi which we ate first while waiting for the others to arrive.

























Expectedly, we all had fun and stuffed ourselves full of food throughout the entire afternoon. What’s good about having our get-togethers at AFPOVAI is that they had a treadmill and a stationary bike so one can shed off some pounds while waiting for the next meal (hehehe). But frankly, we did nothing but eat the entire day – since there were also an entire bilao of kakanin for meryenda/snacks and of course there was a delicious chocolate cake for the June birthday celebrants. Then, at around 5 pm, Ace started cooking the leftover lechon into paksiw while Auntie Chuchay cooked sinigang fish in miso for our dinner.

















They even wanted us to stay for the night but we declined because we had a new born baby rabbit that we had to look after and besides the hubby’s nephew got left behind at the house and I don’t think that he could manage staying alone in the house overnight. So after eating an early dinner and with some lechon paksiw for takeout, we left feeling quite satisfied with all the food and fun and laughter we just shared with family members we only see during occasions like these. Adios everyone! Till next month…

KIT’S 15TH BIRTHDAY

It’s my little boy’s birthday today, but he’s not so little anymore. He’s turning fifteen now and today may be the last time that we may be able to spend his birthday with him here at home in case he gets accepted to MAAP next year. Oh no, I can’t bear to think of that just yet. I’m missing him already! So the hubby and I decided to leave early after eating lunch so that I could help in the preparations for his birthday. Thankfully, today we won’t be deluged by his relatives from Bahay Pare. Instead, it would be just us, family members and some of his friends/neighbors as his guests. We prepared siomai (steamed and fried), red spaghetti, carbonara, grilled hotdogs, fried itik/bibe and his friends drank Boracay rum. Well, I guess they had fun since they made some bit of noise outside. Anyway, here are some pics…

MY DAUGHTER'S BIRTHDAY

I would have wanted a simple celebration for her birthday. After all, she’s just turning nine this year – not really a special number to hold a grand birthday. And besides, we didn’t plan to hold her birthday on a weekend – so it would just be a simple get-together with maybe some neighbors and her friends as guests. But it didn’t turn out as planned! Because Inang decided to take her entire brood from BP and even borrowed a jeep to ferry all of them to our small abode in Bulacan.












For sure, our planned food budget went awry that day and we had to make some major adjustments and bought additional food just to accommodate all of them. In fact, our house felt too small and too hot because we couldn’t seem to fit all of them inside!!! But it sure was fun!!! Tiring because we had to do all the cooking but fun all the same! The choco fountain was the hit of the show and the teens took turns drinking Boracay rum under the hot afternoon sun, whew! All that was lacking is a beach to dive into and it would have been perfect. Of course, I would’ve been much happier if the hubby was were here to tend to his relatives but he can’t go on leave today, so we just held the party without him.

AUNTIE JINGAY’S BIRTHDAY


We visited Auntie Jing’s house today to celebrate her birthday. It was an afternoon gig and quite understandably so because these people have a late night clock so they usually sleep in late and get up at around 11 am na for brunch. So maybe that’s why she invited us for a late lunch/ meryenda sena at 4pm. The food was plentiful and the kids took to the pool at once upon arrival. We all had fun eating and bonding with relatives whom we do not regularly see. Which is why I am glad that the hubby gamely brought us here even if my aunt’s house is in faraway Pasig…I know after eating he becomes quite bored and just whiles away the time watching over the kids or chatting with my cousins (who have become his friends) but of late, I have noticed him just patiently waiting and not putting any pressure on us to hurry home…I guess he realized that it’s the same thing we do when we’re at his home province…wait until he decides he’s had his fill and takes us home.

While chatting with Tita E, I learned the good news that Rachel and Jon are finally leaving for Dubai , well good for them! Then I heard Tita E mention that Jun is next on her list…she’d try to look for a job that would fit his qualifications so that we too would have the chance to go abroad together – even just the two of us so that we could finally have our house renovated and maybe even buy for ourselves a van…well, it doesn’t hurt to dream diba? Who knows, God may just grant us this wish if we pray for it hard enough…

A SIMPLE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION


We had a simple birthday celebration lang today for Kaye’s birthday since it was just the four of us here at home at San Jose…so rather than cook for four or order take-out, we just spent the evening at SM Fairview. After work hours and since it was a Tuesday (so that means no shuttle for the hubby), we texted Kit to just meet us at SM Fairview around 6PM. Our first stop was Tom’s World where the kids (and even the hubby!)had fun playing games and collecting tickets to get a pretty gift for the birthday girl… while I just took pictures of them playing and goofing around…














After the kids had their fill of games, we ate dinner at KFC then before going home, we bought a cake at Red Ribbon which she blew and we ate at home na…truly a simple yet still fun-filled celebration even with just the four of us…

ALENG’S BIRTHDAY

We had a simple dinner celebration today for Aleng’s birthday. She’s with us for the year because she’s currently studying at PUP to obtain a degree in B.A. Entrepreneurial Management. It’s basically like Marketing or Business Management din naman. I guess the focus is just more on honing a person’s skills to be an entrepreneur… I think she likes the school naman but she is just so silent always, never really talks and makes kuwento. But I hope she makes good and finishes her course or even just two years of it so she can take the sub-professional civil service exam and maybe enter the government service. A college degree is also necessary even for private companies so I just hope she doesn’t go the way of Annie and gets married before she finishes college. Meantime, here are some pics taken after we had eaten simple dinner fare of spaghetti, cake and ice cream for Aleng’s birthday…

KAYE’S 7th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

For this year, Kaye celebrated her birthday in a bit of bongga fashion, in fact, we celebrated it three times! … because after all, it is her 7th birthday and instead of spending it at a restaurant in a fancy dress…we opted to spend it at a pool! Where else? It’s summer for crying out loud! My daughter’s birthday this year fell on a Monday and so on that day we just bought her a cake. It was during the weekend after that (on May 24) that we decided to go swimming at Nicolas Grande resort which was just near the house at Barranca. Then, on the next day (a Monday) we gave her a party for her friends naman in our subdivision. I know…I know some may say this may be a bit too much but hey it’s not all the time that our little princess turns seven so we might as well celebrate it well! She had been a good girl naman e with all her nice grades this year and the last so I guess she deserves to be treated well din!

PAPA’S 60th BIRTHDAY!

Papa celebrated his 60th birthday today and just like what we did with Mama…we planned a ‘surprise’ party for him…this time though we decided to hold it at his office because it was a weekday and since he won’t be going on leave naman. We connived with his officemates to make sure that he will be going to his office in Pasig, you see for the past few years since Union Bank merged with Ibank he has been holding two offices – one in Pasig and the other in Makati. And since the Makati office is just near his residence, he usually spends his time there and just goes to the Pasig branch once a week. So this week, we made sure he will be going to Pasig today and I connived with Norie (his secretary) to make up some excuse (a meeting maybe or some important papers to sign) just so he’ll be there…

They were also the one who prepared the other stuff for the ‘surprise’ – like the food for the staff and us to share, the tarpaulin announcing his turn to becoming a ‘senior citizen’, and we brought the cake – his favorite chocolate cake from Aristocrat. We came there early and waited… we took some pictures around the office, but surprisingly…I couldn’t find them na??? I remember I even took pics of the food…but they’re all gone! All that’s left is a pic of the cake… and the memory of happiness that I saw in my father’s eyes when he saw us there at his office…waiting for him! I know it could’ve been better organized – but the lead organizer (Tita Espie) wasn’t here but at Dubai …his 60th birthday should’ve been held at the hotel with many of his friends – specially ones that he has not seen in a long time all there to greet him and recount wonderful memories with him…but it wasn’t meant to be…maybe when he’s 70 na lang! At least, we made some kind of effort to make him happy on this special day! Happy Birthday Papa! Thank you so much for always being there for me… I love you!

JUSTIN’S BIRTHDAY

Today, we celebrated the birthday of one of our favorite pamangkins…favorite because he lived with us when he was barely a year old and grew up with us because his parents were busy with their jobs as vendors in Divisoria and so he fell under the care of his lola who was then staying with us. He was our dear little baby for more than a year and his parents only come once or twice in a month to visit him and bring him milk and diapers. Those other moments when they could not provide for his needs, we more than willingly gave him. And so it is not a surprise that we would hold this birthday party for him…anyway, it’s nothing really spectacular – just some spaghetti and menudo (that Ditse cooked), lechon manok and a cake (that we bought), of course!