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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Birthday Party Planning

This is my official entry to Bebengisms' Wooden Kiddie Stools Giveaway.

Being a work-at-home mom myself, I still find it challenging to balance work load and time for baby. One reason is because I chose to exclusively breastfeed Baby A, making her become more clingy to me but that's what I wanted it to be. I am happy for being with her as she goes through her developmental milestones. From being a swaddled newborn, to achieving her neck support, to her first roll-over, to crawling, to sitting upright unsupported and now trying to stand on her own. A little more than a month left, my baby will become one year old already. Time to celebrate her first birthday.
And because I am such a busy person, I was able to start planning for my baby's birthday party I think last two months ago only. But it doesn't mean that I don't give importance to it. Of course I do, that's why I am taking it slowly and carefully because I want it to be a very special one since it's also her baptismal day. And you know what made it more special? Her birthday this year falls on a Sunday. I really love that day!
First few things that I was able to finalize were the church, the venue and the catering. Then others came next such as photographer, videographer, and photo booth. I actually just made down-payments to them just last two weeks ago. And guess what, Wooden Kiddie Stools was also included in my supplier list. I came to learn about them just early this month after having attended a first birthday party and got a wooden kiddie stool as their souvenir. I find it very practical, customizable and useful. I immediately thought of having these kind of souvenirs to make my planning less tedious. Instead of buying things to fill up a loot bag, this wooden handicraft will do. And to make it different from my friend's party giveaway, I chose wooden mini baskets and I have actually ordered 60 pieces of them. Oh no, I have spoiled the surprise. Haha!
Baby A with her yummy wooden kiddie stool.
Thanks to Mommy G and Baby M!
And coincidentally, Bebengisms is having a giveaway from Wooden Kiddie Stools. Wow! They are giving away 30 pieces of Wooden Baskets according to the party's theme. I really hope to win. It could save me half of the total price that I will be spending. I can already feel the sting on my pocket because of the payments I made this month. Actually, my hubby just wanted a conservative and simple party and me on the other hand wanted to make it more colorful and memorable. And because of that, we have decided to split the expenses where he takes care of only the catering and me for the rest of the party details. Gulp! 
Let's just see how my baby's party would go. I haven't finalized the cake, candy buffet and event stylist yet. I don't have yet a sound system and I know rental fees are very expensive that's why I will try to borrow from someone else. I'll surely blog about all my party details soon. Stay tuned!
Happy 4th Anniversary to Wooden Kiddie Stools and a lot more! Congrats Ms. Jennifer Lopez-Gana! I hope my order will be nicely done. :) 
Mommy Sally  

Friday, October 25, 2013

Baby A's Ear Piercing Experience



Last Oct. 18, 2013, we went to her pedia just to get baby's ears pierced. I was so excited and at the same time afraid that baby would get hurt. First, pedia asked me to choose which earrings I want for baby, either with a birthstone, gold, white gold, or with pearl. I just chose the color pink but actually it's an October's birthstone because December is color blue.



Pedia told me to hold baby's body and limbs tightly as she marked baby's ears with a dot using a pentel pen as a guide before she did the actual thing. My baby was already crying so loud because she didn't want being swaddled or restricted. Then here comes the pedia holding the gun and ready to pierce baby's left ears. You can watch the video HERE. It's my habit to take videos during vaccinations that's why I was also able to capture this video with the help of our maid.

To cut the long story short, as soon as I heard the BANG! of the gun, my baby went on a loud cry. I thought it's part of the process but when I looked into her ears, OH MY! A portion of her left cheek near the left ear got stuck by the gun. I panicked and almost cried as I can feel the pain my baby is going through. Good thing, the cut was not deep, just the outer skin as the pedia immediately removed/retracted the gun from her ear and just manually inserted the earrings lock. For the right ear, I let the maid hold baby already and it was done smoothly in just a split second.

This was one of the very few times baby cried out this loud. I hurriedly carried her and good thing she calmed down in a few minutes because she knew that she is now safe in mommy's arms. This was the most traumatizing experience of me with baby so far. I don't dare to recall or watch the video again as it is really heart-breaking. It was a life-changing day for me because that's when I realized how much I love Baby A. From this day on, I promised myself to protect her, to be with her and spend more time with her. I don't want anything like this to happen again to my baby. Instead of feeling furious and angry with the pedia and the incident, I just diverted my feelings towards loving baby more.

It was a fateful Friday. I didn't voiced out my anger to the public because I don't want to say something bad that I might later regret. I waited for one week which is today to calm myself down and partly forget the incident. Good news, baby's wound had dried up, partially healed and the dried skin cells were peeled off already. On the spot, the pedia applied Betadine and at home, I just applied drops of breastmilk. I am just worried and hoping it won't leave a scar on her cheek.

Thank God for baby's speedy healing of the wound. I love you my Baby A! Mwah! :)

Left side shows the freshly cut wounds. Right side shows the wound about to heal.

If you were on my position, how would you react on this?
Any tips on how to avoid getting scars?
At what age did you had your baby's ears pierced?
When do you think is the best time/age to do it?

Mommy Sally

Baby A at Ten Months

Baby's 10th month birthday cake.

Time flies so fast. My baby girl is now 10 months but still showed no signs of teething yet. She also has a thin/few hair but it's okay, most probably she got it from me. Sometimes, these things got me worried but I know I should not be because every child's development varies. I would just accept how she is and how she brings happiness to our lives.

Baby standing up holding unto the crib ledge.

At this age, she loves to move around and explore on things. She learned to stand up on her own by clinging onto the crib ledge. Then she would walk around the corners of the crib, proudly smiling and babbling, throwing her books and toys out of the crib as if seeking for attention. She now crawls so fast that we really need to be all eyes on where she is heading. She even learned to climb a step from bed to sofa. We started sleeping on the floor bed when she was 4 months old where our bed is connected to the room sofa which then served as her climbing course.

Baby climbing up the sofa.

I also want to celebrate our 10 months of breastfeeding journey where we strictly direct feed throughout the night. It was an amazing sight to see the many acrobatic poses my baby does while breastfeeding. Before, we only feed on a side-lying position. Now, she would feed on top of me, sometimes with her little butt up, trying to get milk while standing, kneeling or even sitting down. I have also tried to feed baby in public and be confident in not bringing a bottle when we go out with baby. It's really hassle-free with breastfeeding. I'm proud of myself to have reached this mark and be successful in breastfeeding. The journey was not an easy-breezy but through determination and commitment, it feels good to arrive at where we are now. Still looking forward. counting the days and years how far our breastfeeding journey would go. I have yet to see it myself the many benefits and miracles that breastfeeding could give to my baby.

Breastfeeding lying down position.

People would always give a side comment that having a baby would mean having increased expenses. But with breastfeeding, we were able to save a lot because we never had to buy any formula/powdered milk for our baby's daily needs. Aside from that, we also saved on buying disposable diapers because we use reusable cloth diapers. Cloth diapers are indeed expensive but in the long run, it will be worth it plus you help save the environment from garbage disposals. I think the last time I bought a pack of disposable diapers was when baby was 4 months.


Baby on a cloth diaper.
We also practiced baby-led weaning starting 6months, with help and support from the Facebook group called Baby Led Weaning Philippines where we feed only local produce such as steamed sayote, broccoli, cauliflower, papaya, avocado, banana, etc. We never fed her with jarred processed/pureed/blended food.
Baby eating steamed carrots.
From the savings that I got from breastfeeding, cloth diapering and baby-led weaning, I used them instead to buy books. I don't even buy my baby nice dresses or expensive toys because luckily my family and friends have been very generous to provide baby those things. What I regret the most with myself is not loving books and I don't want my baby to be like me. It would look exaggerating, but I buy children's books almost every week or at least every month to build up the library of my baby. Every time I would pass by a Book Sale, I would surely go in and search for good/famous books or cheap and worthy books.

At BOOKSALE Waltermart, E. Rodriguez branch.


Baby reading books while sitting.

Baby reading books while standing.

I never imagined that I am capable of sacrificing and loving someone this much. Every single moment with baby brings joy and excitement to my everyday life. And as a "stage mom", I would give whatever is best for my baby, inside and out. And as part of having a baby girl, it is a mom's responsibility to make her daughter look beautiful and presentable.

Baby's birthday is almost coming up in less than 2 months, I have been very busy preparing for her baptismal and birthday party. Part of the prepping up is to have my baby's ears pierced so she can wear earrings and make her look more girly and people would surely not mistaken her as a boy. Some babies had their ears pierced when they were just few days old, while some do it at a later age. Both has its pros and cons. Either doing it below 6 months old when baby is still easy to handle but prone to infection or just before one year old when baby's ears are more firm but very playful already. For me, the younger the better so that they won't remember the painful experience.

Want to know how the ear piercing experience of my baby went? I invite you to continue reading onto my next blog post. Warning, it's a heavy one.

Mommy Sally

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Reis & Irvy's Frozen Yogurt: Served by a Robot

As far as I could remember, the first few times I have tasted a frozen yogurt was year 2009, the time when frozen yogurt craze was still at its peak or at least on my own personal observation. Lots of frozen yogurt house opened here and there, not until the bubble tea craze took place last 2011. Both of which shows that people are now more health-conscious, thus have switched to a healthier dessert alternatives.

Speaking of frozen yogurt place, most of them are full-service type of restaurants where you tell your specific order to the staff and the staff would prepare it for you. Then there are a few that opened as a self-service type where you get a cup, fill in with yogurt and toppings and the cup will be weighed to compute the amount. But self-served frozen yogurt is a bit tricky because there's no way to predict the exact price since it is based on weight (i.e. P20 per ounce) so you need to be very careful in filling up your cup. And now comes the third type, frozen yogurt served by a robot! Wow, cool!

Last Sept. 28, 2013 (Saturday) marked the grand opening of Reis & Irvy's Frozen Yogurt and I am honored to be one of the chosen bloggers to witness this. They celebrated their opening by giving out free yogurts to the first 50 people to get in line by 11:00am.


People were so excited waiting in line to experience this frozen yogurt being served by a robot.

Reis & Irvy's Frozen Yogurt is a kiosk type of business where there is a cashier, a yogurt machine and small area to accommodate around 8 sit-down customers. As I see it, the concept is a hybrid of vending machine and a merchandiser type of arcade machine. To get a better view on this, let's watch this short video clip that I took to show you how the machine works. Click HERE.

Reis & Irvy's Frozen Yogurt kiosk

Here are the steps on how to place your order:
1. First, approach the cashier, pay P125 in exchange of a coupon.
2. Insert the coupon into the slot of the kiosk.
3. From the touch screen, choose your 1st yogurt either Vanilla, Chocolate or a combination of both.
4. Then pick your 1st topping. Choices are: peanuts, sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, muesli, chopped cashews, chocolate pieces or no topping at all.
5. Choose your 2nd yogurt. Same choices as above.
6. Pick your 2nd topping. Same choices as above.
7. Then choose 1 from among the 4 robots: Cid, Irvy, Reis or Rev.
8. Watch as the robot of your choice prepares your order in less than 2 minutes or 100 seconds. This might be shortened if you are fast in choosing.
9. You may get your cup as soon as the slot opening on the left side opens.
10. Get your spoon and tissue from the cashier. Just add P25 for additional 2 toppings to be scooped manually.
 
It's basically a 4-layer yogurt treat.
1st/base layer: yogurt
2nd layer: topping
3rd layer: yogurt
4th/top layer: topping

Snap shots of the different steps to get to your frozen yogurt.
 
As you wait and watch, there's a visual graphics that plays on the LCD screen inside the machine while the robot arm moves around getting the cup, putting layers of yogurt, sprinkling the toppings and serving the finished product into the slot opening. The cup isn't an ordinary paper cup but a plastic souvenir cup which you can wash and keep as a souvenir. They are also selling button pins with the robot designs for P40 each.


Robot designs button pins selling for P40 each.

Based on my experience, here are some thoughts that came up to me.
Pros:
1. It gives a new and exciting experience for adventure-lovers to try this new idea of being served by a robot.
2. You are sure that your order would be free from human errors and tamper-free.
3. The taste is good, same as other frozen yogurt stores.

Cons:
1. It can be exciting at first but not sure if it's still worth the try for a second time because of the price, where the content is just half of what it is seen on the poster.
2. Prone to technical malfunction and if that happens, the operation also stops.
3. No option of fresh fruits as toppings because the machine can only contain dry and non-sticky toppings.

From the looks of their customers' happy faces, it seems that they enjoyed their frozen yogurt served-by-a-robot experience.

Happy customers.

As part of their grand opening celebration, people also had a chance to do face painting with the 4 robot designs to choose from. I find their robot designs so cute! Kudos to the graphic designers from Bacolod! Nice painting skills by Art N Faces Body Art.


I joined the fun by getting painted on my right arm.
Plus a photo-op with Reis, the pink female robot, in human form. In fairness, she acted like a real robot. Good job!

Here's a picture of me with Reis.

Before I end this write-up, I would like to congratulate Robofusion, Inc. for bringing in Reis & Irvy's Frozen Yogurt in the Philippines, the first and only robotic frozen yogurt kiosk in our country as of the moment. It surely gave this frozen yogurt industry a revival with a fresh new twist. Just to let you know, Robofusion, Inc is the leader in interactive robotic kiosk. You may visit their website to know more about the company.
 
Currently, these are the countries that
Robofusion has partnered and expanded to.
 
Here's a photo-op with the US citizen part owner, Ms. Lydia Jones.
 
Watch out as they plan to open their second branch in SM Megamall within the year.
 

To get updates on Reis & Irvy's Frozen Yogurt, kindly visit and follow them here:
Twitter: @robofusion
Instagram: @reisandirvy
Location: 3/F The Block, SM North Edsa (beside Sandwich Guy stall) from 10am to 10pm
Contact: 888-974-4442 (US toll-free number)
 
If I may suggest, it would be a good idea to position their robotic kiosk beside a science museum. What do you think?
 
Mommy Sally

Saturday, October 5, 2013

What Inspires Me to Blog

This is The Binondo Mommy's official entry to Moomy Musings "What Inspires You?" Blog Inc. Book Giveaway Contest.

The Binondo Mommy is a fairly new blog that started only last June 8, 2013, almost four months running in the blogging world. It was born to serve as a medium to document my life as a mom, to record the happiness of having a baby, to improve on my skills, to open new opportunities, and to meet new friends along the way.

I got inspired from those mommy bloggers who constantly share their personal stories, learnings and mishaps to help fellow moms avoid falling into the same problem or to hear out another mom's point of view. Reading blogs is fun because you can easily get a glimpse of somebody else's life and get to learn many new things. To my supportive friends and readers who took time to read my blog posts and left comments, they are the ones that kept me inspired to blog more.

I can better express myself through writing than talking face to face that's why I think blogging is for me. I love to document things especially through photographs and videos and all those memorabilia that I would come across with. As of now, I don't have any field of expertise or specialty that I can mention yet because I am still finding my life's purpose. And because of that, the topics that I blog still varies. I have a dream to travel around the world, to dine in different restaurants, to start my own business, to be financially stable, to be able to help and give back to society. And I am very hopeful that blogging could, one way or another, take me to achieve my dreams in life. I learned from a seminar that the more you declare your dreams to the universe, the faster they will come to you. I know it would take time to create a successful blog but I am willing to take the small steps. I strongly believe that knowledge and power is achieved through time.

Got this image from: http://www.beckybedbug.com/2013/06/book-review-blog-inc.html



After reading the review by Moomy Musings on the book entitled Blog Inc. by Joy Cho, the whole book's content got my interest. I'm interested to read Chapter 1: Introduction to Blogging since it best fits my current status in this blogosphere. I want to better understand the blogging terms, blogging purposes and different types of blogs. The second interesting chapter for me is Chapter 4: Blogging Community Etiquette.



I hope to get a copy of this Blog Inc. book by Joy Cho as I really want to see how far my blog would go. If you are interested to create your own blog, you might want to check Moomy Musings' blog for inspiration: http://www.moomymusings.com/2013/09/blog-inc-book-review.html

Special thanks to Moomy Musings for helping me put up my blog and serving as my inspiration. May you inspire many more people to blog with purpose.

Mommy Sally

Friday, October 4, 2013

Superbook Reimagined: Now in Tagalog

I had once attended an event of Superbook, their Bida ng Pagbabago Roadshow. You may read my fun experience here in my previous blog post. I'm amazed by their Facebook page where they already have almost 173,000 fans, to date. And in their every posts or status update, lots of people have been leaving comments and participating making the discussion so alive and interactive. This means to say that Superbook is really a hit to Filipino families. The revived show was very well received and enjoyed by Filipino kids of this generation. I admit that I wasn't able to tune in to Superbook every Saturday because it's too early. I want to let baby sleep some more and wait until she wants to wake up. But I really find Superbook a good TV show because not only does it relives the Bibles stories, the short 30-minute time slot doesn't contain any commercials except for Superbook ads. This means that you can be sure that your kids won't be influenced negatively. Whether you have completed watching the 13 episodes in English or haven't started watching any yet, you can still watch again or start watching because they have a great news to all the fans of Superbook!

Starting October 5, Superbook will now be aired in Tagalog!

"Now that there's Superbook in Tagalog, more Pinoy kids will surely learn from the episodes and relate to the stories portrayed. This time, Superbook will be appreciated by more Filipino families. It's my dream to see Superbook translated to other dialects so that more kids will know about God and His great love for us," says Icko Gonzalez, Superbook Project Head.
 
With Superbook in Tagalog on TV, more children can share the excitement and relive the greatest adventures ever told.



Watch the Tagalized version of Superbook Season 1 and enjoy time-traveling with your favorite Superbook friends Chris, Joy and Gizmo every Saturday, starting October 5, 7:30 a.m. on GMA and will run for 13 weeks.

And of course, their Salvation Poem will now be sang in Tagalog too. So watch out for it at the end of the show and be the first to master their new song! I bet it's as LSS-worthy as the English version.

To know more about Superbook, you may visit their website at www.batangsuperbook.com and LIKE them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BatangSuperbook.

What's your favorite episode among the 13 and why? Share with me in the comments below.

Mommy Sally