A Letter For Amber On Her 6th Birthday

To my ever dearest Amber,

You turn six today.

You revel on being called a kid now. Yes, you don’t want to be called a baby anymore. But you know what? You will always be my and daddy’s baby, even if you are already 30 years old! You will never stop being our baby. I can almost hear you say, “What?! That’s crazy!”, in your funny American accent, which I will always be amazed of hearing since none of us in the household speaks that way.

You are very inquisitive. I’ve never heard so many WHYs in my life! But I’m glad that you never hold back in learning. You are never scared to ask us anything that baffles you or are new to you. I hope Daddy and I would always be able to satisfy your interested mind. If we do not, just keep on asking us... ;-)

You enjoy simple things. Despite that your playmates own high-end gadgets and expensive toys, you never once asked us to buy the same things for you. Instead, you enjoy playing with the things that you already have.

You are very creative. When you are done playing with your toys, you ask for paper and you make this:

There are so many paper cut-outs among your toys but I never dare throw them away no matter how crumpled they become because I know that they are your creations. That for you, they are made for something, that they mean something.

Every day, I still and always thank God for you. Every moment, I am loving you more!

Love,

Mommy Lanie

My Grade-Schooler

See the uniform? Nope, she didn’t transfer into a new school but she’s wearing a big girl’s uniform now. Amber is officially in Grade school! And oh, the skirt... I have to mention that I did pretty well in adjusting its length. Yup, that was done by me with, of course, the help of SUE. Oh I’m enjoying our time together! Will tell you more about it some other time. ;)

Notice the bag? It seems bigger than her, right? We had to buy her a new bag because all her books and school supplies cannot fit in the old bag anymore. We were lucky to find a good bag that will not be too heavy for her to roll around.

Since she will be in school for a good 7 hours and 35 minutes, I have to find ways how to make her eat the lunch that Ate Mai and I prepared for her. Amber eats well now, but you still have to supervise her and always nag her to finish her food. Eating time at home for a meal usually takes almost an hour. :(

She looks very excited when she saw her new books. I always hope she will find her learning years enjoyable.

Meet My New Toy, Sue!

I have always wanted to own a sewing machine. But, I don’t know how to sew. I just feel that I need it because I’m the person who always finds something is wrong with the clothes I bought. They’re either too tight or too loose here and there. So my solution is to alter them to have a better fit! But simple alterations done in dress shops aren't cheap.

Also, good pillowcases are so darn expensive! And our bed is a home to almost a dozen irregularly sized and shaped pillows. It’s so hard to find pillowcases in colors of same shades that will fit all the pillows we have. It would save me trouble if I can just make our own pillowcases.

So when I chanced upon this ad in Lazada, my first sewing machine arrived in our door the next day!

This blurry picture was taken by Amber who insisted that she takes the picture. :)

Well, it’s not like those bad ass Singer machine with the table and all. It’s a portable mini-sewing machine! And Yes, I’m naming her SUE! Our household has this habit of naming things so it’ll be easier to identify them like our External Memory Drive who we call “ED”, and the other External Memory Drive who is named “TERA”. Sounds crazy but it definitely works for us! :)

Sue pretty much sews any kind of fabrics except denims. So excited to put this mini-machine to work! I also heard that it's like a sewing machine for dummies. Perfect for me!

Imagine how many pillow cases I can make from this? 

Conversations with Amber

How do you know when your kids are growing up? They say things that you don’t expect to hear from them.

Chismis 101

Me: Amber, do you know [playmate’s] dad?

It was an innocent question, I swear!

Amber: Wala e. He left. Maybe he wanted to be with another woman who is not [playmate’s] mom.

My jaw dropped.

Helping hand

Handing me her toothbrush.

Amber: Mommy, can you help me brush my teeth?

Mommy: How do you want me to help you?

Amber: I want you to brush my teeth.

Mommy: Ha? I thought you already know how to brush your teeth by yourself? Di ba you’ve been doing that already?

Amber: Eh kasi it’s tagal if I do it myself.

Mommy: It’s okay, I can wait.

Amber: But mommy, it’s getting late na diba? If you help me, I can finish faster.

Where do they get this logic?

The Yellow Fruit

After seeing the mango on the table...

Amber: Mommy, I’m hungry.

Mommy: What do you want to eat?

Amber: Hmmm, I don’t know... Maybe something that is yellow?

Mommy: Ah, mango?

Amber: Huh?!? How can you say that? I didn’t even thought (sic) about that. But yes, I can eat mango.

Style nito, bulok.

Busy God

While traversing the busy Alabang road...

Amber: God must be tired making all these people.

Vendor

“Daddy, what is he selling?”, says Amber while pointing at the Lay Minister

...in the Church

...during Communion.

Recipe: Fried Cream Dory with Garlic Cream Sauce

I like Cream Dory for its versatility. Like you can cook it any way you want.

I planned to make Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet with the pack of Cream Dory I have on the fridge.

But then, I prefer cream sauce over tomato-based sauces.

And I find it easier to make Garlic Cream Sauce.

Well, don’t be deceived, this recipe may appear very simple but I loved how it turned out! ;)

Ingredients:

-Cream Dory, I used 1 pack of frozen Dory fillet, about 500grams

-Oil for frying

-4 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 tbsp of butter

-1 cup of milk, I always use fresh milk

-1 tsp of dried basil

-Salt & pepper to taste

How to:

1.    In a sauce pan under low heat, saute garlic on butter until garlic is fragrant. Do not wait until garlic turns brown. Pour fresh milk. Season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for about a minute. Add basil.

2.    Season fish with salt and pepper. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Use as little oil as possible, just enough to coat your pan. Do not overcook fish as meat may crumble.

3.    Put the fish on a serving plate. Pour garlic-cream sauce over it.

Perfect with steamed rice! I sometimes sprinkle my steamed rice with dried basil leaves. 

I don’t know but I have this latest addiction to basil. It seems like it’s making everything I eat extra flavorful. Or maybe it’s just my taste buds. :) 

Manual or Automatic?

It was our schedule to go to Nanay’s but Daddy had other business to attend to. Wala kaming driver. Good thing my boss left in our care his other car.

So after a long... long... time, I found myself behind wheels again. Though it’s still tiring, (as in sobra!) I had fun, especially that I have a very cute (and very talkative) passenger with me. ^_^

I’m a selective driver. Kasi I only drive cars with Automatic Transmissions. I get easily intimidated by shift gears and clutches. 15 years ago, I first learned how to drive with a Manual Transmission car but ever since I got my license the same year, I never drove an MT car again, ever!

Now, I’m bopols when put behind an MT wheel. All I can do with it is start the engine, put it in first or reverse gear, and drive it away so that it will not block the gate. Then the engine dies on me so the neighbor’s gate is the farthest I can get.

When the Hubby replaced his A/T car with an M/T car, I was all smiles! I thought to myself that I will never be asked to drive again.

I can say I drive fairly well. Never had accidents except for minor bumps and scratches when I was still a beginner. But it tires me easily. One of the reasons I resigned from my previous job is that the level of exhaustion I feel every time I get home is comparable to that of a public transport driver's! To think that I drive a comfy automatic car only to and from clients offices. How hard can that be, right?

But despite my unwillingness to learn driving a shifter, at some point I have to, because that’s the only vehicle we have and I can’t really be choosy. Sigh. Guess I have to overcome my “kabopolan” anyways. :)

How about you, what do you prefer driving?

Farewell, Preschool.

Did I tell you that Amber already graduated from Preschool? Yes, she did! I’m officially a grade school mom this coming June.

How time flies. When I look at her asleep, I can’t help but wonder how she grew up that fast and became that long, she now occupies half of our bed, with me and daddy sharing the other half.

Since I was incommunicado again during the time she finished preschool, let me share with you some of her pictures during her last year in prep.

Siglakas (Sports) Day, September 2014

UN Day Celebration, October 2014

Educational Field Trip, November 2014

Christmas Party/Family Day, December 2014

Recognition Day, March 2015

Graduation Day, March 2015

Oh! Can I just mention here what her adviser told me when I went to pick up her report card? I’ll say it anyway! [drumrolls please] Amber finished top of her class! Please forgive me for not being able to contain my pride here. I'm just so happy and proud! ^_^

Good luck, my dear. May you enjoy life to the fullest! 

Fickle-minded II

A week later.

"Mommy, I changed my mind again. I really, really, really want a baby brother... can we go to the baby store so you can buy me a brother?”

I wish it’s that simple. Blah! :p

But it's a cute thought. :D

Fickle-minded

Amber: Mommy,... I want a baby brother.

Me: You do?

I looked suspiciously at the Hubby, thinking he has something to do with the sudden announcement. He shrugged and made that I-swear-I-have-no-idea look.

Me: Why a baby brother?

Amber: Para I’ll be the big sister. I will play with him. It will be fun!

The day after, we saw her staring at a baby on the table next to us in a restaurant.

Me: What are you looking at?

Amber: The baby!

Me: Do you really want to have a baby brother?

Amber: Naw. I changed my mind. I don’t want a baby brother anymore.

Me: How about a baby sister.

Amber: No.

Me: Who are you going to play with if you don’t have a brother or a sister?

Amber: No one. I can play with myself... alone!

I’m so confused! Girls and their fickle minds! :/

Amber’s Weird Taste in Medicine

Why is it that she doesn’t like to drink fruity tasting medicines and vitamins but doesn’t give a fit when given dark green colored Lagundi syrup?!? She even says that it's her favorite medicine!

Gulping every last drop of it.

Weird taste buds!

A Note On Our Bedroom Door

Recipe: Pan-cooked Pork Barbecue

I know how hard it is to plan daily meals, especially if you have a husband like mine – super picky!

I am always thankful of the recipes that I find in the net. They keep me sane. So, in the spirit of giving back, I’d like to share with you a hit but very simple pork barbecue recipe from my MIL.

We normally do not measure the ingredients, we do it the tantya-tantya way. :) I’ll try to make the nearest estimate of the ingredients, feel free to make your own adjustments if it turns out too sweet or too salty for your taste. :)

Ingredients:

-1/2 to ¾ kg Pork (can use porkchop, pork steak, pork ribs)

-4 tbsp soy sauce 

-2 tbsp oyster sauce

-6 cloves of garlic, minced

-2 tbsp sugar 
-juice of 4 calamansi
-cooking oil

Here’s how to cook it:

1.    Mix all ingredients in a bowl and marinade pork for at least 30mins.

2.    You can grill the pork, (keep it marinated for a longer time) basting it with the marinade as it cooks or the easier way, which we often do – put the pork together with the marinade in a heavy pan and let it simmer over medium heat until the sauce is reduced.

3.    Once the sauce is reduced, pour a little cooking oil and cook until the meat is tender. You may turn the meat over to cook it evenly.

That’s it! Perfect with a steaming white rice and sautéed veggies on the side. 

We used pork ribs here.

It’s Nanay’s Birthday!

We celebrated Nanay’s birthday by having lunch at Uncle Cheffy in Festival Mall. Yay! I was so excited that I’ll get to taste Cheffy Cheesecake again!

Since I didn’t eat breakfast that morning, I wanted to order everything that’s on the menu, so I just let Nanay and the Hubby decide what they want on our table as long as I’ll have my cheesecake later.

We wondered why Amber kept on standing on her seat then the Hubby discovered that ghost-like image of a little girl on the mirror on the other side of the resto. 

 

Was she trying to scare herself of her own reflection? 

And because I didn’t get a picture of everything that we ordered, I will not talk about them anymore but have to mention that I love the Tiuey Noodles!

At least I got to ask the Hubby to take a picture of the Rolled-up Panizza that I assembled!

 

Quite proud of my masterpiece. ^_^

I was disappointed when my Cheffy Cheesecake arrived.

It lacked the beauty that their branch in Venice Piazza presented on plate. I was looking for the choco shavings and the bed of chocolate fudge where the cheesecake should be seated but they weren’t there. This plate was as simple as it can be. Even the taste seemed different. Oh well, at least the crew here were nicer and very attentive.

May I also add, that in most desserts na may cherry, ‘save-the-best-for-last’ ko yang cherry na yan. Ngayown, while I’m taking a picture of the cake, may nakaabang na sa kawawang cherry.  

At the end of it all, what’s important is that we had a sumptuous meal.

Happy birthday, Nanay! My wish for you is to have more happy, strong and healthy years with us. I may not tell you this often but I’m sure you know how much I love you. I’ll forever be grateful for all the sacrifices you made for me. I may have questioned some of your decisions before but now that I’m already a mom myself, I came to understand why you chose not to do the things I thought you should have done, I respect the decisions you made and I admire you for weathering the storm alone for me. I love you, Nanay!

"Milk Cookies"

They're not Otaps. They just look like it. ^_^

Amber called them ‘Milk Cookie’ and liked how they tasted. She said “So yummy, Mommy!”, and even had a few more servings after her first bite.

It’s crunchy outside but very chewy and milky inside.

It’s actually my failed attempt in making Toasted Pastillas!

Yup, my intent was to make toasted pastillas but I might have put too much condensed milk that it turned out gooey and even after I doubled the measurement of powdered milk, I still can’t make them firm enough to form small cubes. So I ended up having small logs, which flattened out when toasted.

Oh well, at least they still turned out yum-yum, that it was gone minutes after. Most of all, Amber and I had a fun time making them.

Enjoying the gooey dough. :)

I found another recipe online and might give it a try one of these days. ;)

“Mommy, Let’s Take A Picture Of Us!”

And so, I obliged! :)

Anak, maybe I should hold the camera instead.
Nawawala ako sa frame pag ikaw kumukuha ng pics e. LOL!

I've been tricked! Sabi nya silly face daw, eh!

Hmmm, can’t help but notice that lately, you are beginning to look more like your Dad and less like me. Bakeeettt ganun?!? 

Filipino Subject Woes

I knew it! I mentioned here my concern about the result of Amber's Filipino exams, which I haven’t gotten yet at that time. So I wasn't surprised when I saw it the other day.

Oh yes, she knows how to write her full name.
She just doesn't have the patience to do it. :(

Buko becomes Biko, and Baso is Beso. ;/

And that animal in #29 is called ISA!

Guess, we really have a lot of catching up to do in Filipino! Sigh!