Baby Steps: Journey to Mommyhood

In less than two weeks, I'd be forty.  I'm still in denial, okay?  Despite the age, I still get asked if I want another baby.  NO. =)

Looking back at the past decade, some of the most significant moments in my life happened - getting pregnant twice, and giving birth to the boy and the girl.  I was blessed to have a healthy and easy pregnancy with both babies.  Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like if there was a third.

Coordinating a wedding at 35 weeks w/ baby #2

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Mom-Finds: Look It's About Me - Personalized Books

Last Friday of the month: Finds and Faves / Gift / Books


You can only imagine how thrilled the boy and girl were as soon as they saw their names on the book cover!

As seen on my Instagram

I found out about these amazing personalized books from Rone.  Lucky for us, she sent the publishers our way, and so the boy and the girl got their very own storybooks to star in.  Look It's About Me is such a unique find that both adults and kids alike would appreciate.

Between the two, it's the girl who is more of a reader.  The boy has his moods but picks up an adventure book from time to time.  He used to bring home the series of Geronimo Stilton books from the school library, then shifted to art books and reference books.  The Great Space Race was an obvious choice for him when I showed him the titles to choose from.  He has been fascinated with the heavenly bodies and astronomy since he was 2!

When you order a book, you will be sent a form that you need to fill out with a short list of information, which will then be included in your book of choice.  For his book, my boy got to choose two friends to "bring along" and compete with him on his space race.

The Great Space Race also has a version for girls.  As the boy started reading, the girl was equally engaged in the adventure and they both sat down to enjoy the story together.  One bonus activity that all three of us enjoyed was found at the end of this book... 

Have a look - take The Great Space Race book tour here.

I thought the girl version of the space race book would be the choice of my daughter, but I guess she still has a hang-over from her recent birthday celebration. Hence, the Super Duper Birthday Party was her pick.

My girl knows that with books, I will buy one for her anytime, but not with toys.  She's now an early reader and enjoys browsing through the different titles we have at home, and in her classroom.

This birthday party book features different animals, and has bright colorful pages.  She particularly loves the giant birthday cake with her name on it, and the mailboxes where the stork delivered her birthday party invitations.  There was a mailbox with no name, so she decided to put "mommy, daddy" and told me we were invited too! =)

Take a peek inside the Super Duper Birthday Party book - tour here.

What I like about Look It's About Me books:

• Personalized stories
• A good tool to encourage kids to read more (since they are the star of the book) 
• A selection of titles for boys and girls
• Big size, and hardbound (hard cover)
• Bright and colorful - attractive for kids
• Simple storyline, with easy-to-read words
• Educational, fun, and engaging for young (and not so young) readers
• A novel gift idea

Any kid would love to see their names and star in their own story books, making this a fantastic gift for any occasion.  I hope the publishers would add more titles soon.

You can view and order their storybooks and other gift items from Look It's About Me website.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
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My 3 Things: Beauty

#my3things #beauty

I've written about it a few times on this blog - I'm far from being a beauty junkie.  You count on your fingers the number of times I've talked about cosmetics here.  Funny thing is, if you saw my maiden post on My 3 Things, you will see that my very first #my3things photo happens to be my basic make-up kit.  Of course, there will be days when I'll be in the mood to try a different lip color, put on more coverage, or even try to open up my eyes more (wishful thinking). =)

On those odd days, this happens: 

1. BYS Lipgloss & Lipstick Duo - I received my first set of BYS cosmetics last month and I fell in love with their lipsticks!  Its matte finish is soft and still glides smoothly on the lips.  No dry, flakey feeling even after hours without touch ups.  Look here, the color held up even after having my lunch and afternoon snack.  I can finally give my lip shimmers a break for now and make room for these fantastic Australian-brand lipsticks.
2. Eye of Horus Natural Mascara - Last November, I received a surprise beauty gift box from Glamourbox.  The box contained an assortment of samples from premium cosmetic brands and I took this out first 'coz I have not bought a fresh tube of mascara in ages.  It's not a sample size but the full-sized tube! I know I rarely use one, but after trying it, I think I can start adding a coat of this light, natural mascara to my basic make-up routine.
3. Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream - This is my all-in-one anti-wrinkle cream foundation / concealer / sunscreen which I use during special occasions, or when I'll be out the entire day.  Considering some sun exposure, this is so convenient to use since I don't have to pile on a separate sunscreen and foundation.  I like the smooth finish and full coverage that stays put the whole day.  I alternate this BB cream with my favorite mineral face powder.

Ladies, do you have a favorite make-up product? What's your #my3things #beauty?

* * *

#my3things

To shoot and share photos of groups of things that I use together or consume regularly.  

If you are following me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, you will see #my3things instantly. 

On the blog, you'll learn more about each one, and know the story behind them.  I'll be sharing one photo at a time.  This is another window into the life Mom-Friday. =)

Join me on Instagram and share your 3 things.  Don't forget to use the hashtag #my3things and tag @mymomfriday so I can see them too! :)

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
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Fun Friday: Game of Clash of Clans and Minecraft

Third Friday of the month:  Hobbies / Recreation / Games

After almost four years of blogging, this is the first time I'm allowing someone to take over my Friday feature.  I have a scheduled post for today but have not gotten around to final editing since I had been plagued by headaches and migraines this week.  I actually panicked 'coz I had no back-up post for today.  Thankfully, my boys here were playing their father-son game on the iPad last night and it gave me an idea.

This is an impromptu post which turned out to be a perfect opportunity to share one of my boy's many interests with you, and at the same time, allowed him to apply what he has learned in narrative writing from school.

Let me introduce to you my boy - please indulge him with his first official blog post. =)

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Kid-Style: Girly Bows from Head to Toe

Her love for bows began here.  I love bows too, especially those made with grosgrain ribbons!

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Family Friday: In Between Chores

Second Friday of the month:  Home & Living / Parenting

By far, this new year has been the most stressful and tiring for me.  We have been maid-less since January 1, and I am still scouting for applicants.  I know that losing a household help is not the end of the world, but who wouldn't want some help around the house right?

QUOTE I GOT FROM PINTEREST

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Panko-Crusted Tikoy Sticks

I am a tikoy addict.  I posted my first tikoy feature here and even shared some trivia about this sticky snack, so this will be a quick post as we welcome the Chinese New Year.  This 2013, the first day of the Year of the Water Snake falls on February 10.

As a Filipino-Chinese, we get to enjoy this traditional glutenous delight every Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year.  Here we have our large white tikoy, and regular 1-kilo brown tikoy.

You know, you can actually eat this straight from the pack since this was already cooked by steaming.  But where's the fun in that, right? =)  Which now brings me to this crunchy tikoy snack.

PANKO-CRUSTED TIKOY

Tikoy
Flour
Egg
Panko bread crumbs
oil

Cut the tikoy in thick sticks.
Heat oil in a pan, or use deep fryer.
Dredge in flour, dip in egg, then coat with panko.
Fry until golden.
Place on tissue to absorb excess oil and cool for a few minutes.

The girl can't wait for it to cool and decided she'll be "a dog" and bite off a piece from the edge of the crunchy tikoy stick! =)

I found out, after cooking at 5pm last weekend, this panko-custed tikoy is still crunchy until 7pm!  I just left them on a plate at room temperature while we prepared for dinner.

I now have 2 ways to cook crunchy tikoy:

1 - Lumpiang tikoy, plain or cheekoy (cheesy tikoy)

2 - Coated in crispy panko - another scrumptious way of celebrating the coming Chinese New Year!

Click here for the other Tikoy posts:

Lumpiang Tikoy and some fun facts

Lumpiang Cheekoy

Check out our festive Chinese New Year "adventure" in Chinatown last year.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
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Foodie Friday: Instant Korean Bulgogi

First Friday of the month:  Mom-Cook / Recipe

Remember my Samgyusal foodie post last year? After learning how easy that was to prepare, I've been serving almost every week 'til we got sick of it, hahahaha... Then I found this nice bottle of pear and apple puree.  Hello instant beef bulgogi!

Korean #lunch:  My post on Instagram

I did not plan on posting this "recipe" because the magic is really in the bottle and not with my cooking.  All I did was just prepare the mise en place, then sauté everything. =)   But seriously, I know I'm not the only one who needs something "instant" on some days or nights.  I can't deny that I buy a lot of prepared sauces for meats and pastas.  They just make my domestic life so much easier while making the food taste good too.

CJ Korean Bulgogi sauce is one my go-to sauces for quickfire dishes.  For home cooks like me, spending 30 minutes, or less, from prep to plating would be a home run!  This bulgogi is one of it.

Bulgogi literally means "fire meat", a technique where meat is cooked in open flame.  This traditional Korean beef dish is cooked like a barbecue, but can also be stir-fried, and eaten with a lettuce wrap.  Chicken (dak) and pork (dwaeji) can also be use.  Today's dish is traditional, with thinly sliced beef.

KOREAN BULGOGI

250 g sirloin beef, sukiyaki cut

CJ Korean Bulgogi sauce

garlic, minced

white onion, sliced

carrot, julliened

leeks, sliced on a diagonal

2 tablespoon cooking oil

1/4 cup water

To prepare:

(Ask your butcher for sukiyaki cut sirloin. This paper-thin cut cooks faster.)

Use 1/3 to 1/2 of the bottled sauce to marinate the beef slices for at least 30 minutes.  Mine was overnight in the ref.

Ready your mise en place and heat a pan with oil.

To cook:

Saute your aromatics over medium to high heat, then add carrots and the marinated beef.

Stir-fry for about 2 minutes in high heat, then add the leeks. Lower heat and mix well.

Add more bulgogi sauce by the tablespoon and gradually pour water until your desired thickness of the sauce (you can omit the water if you don't want a watery sauce). Taste to adjust flavor.

Simmer for another minute or two.

Serve immediately. Add cracked pepper if desired.  Bulgogi is great as rice topping!

I forgot how much I bought this bottle from SM Hypermarket, but I'll update this post as soon as I get the price.  See prices of the bottles above (there's spicy variant too!) from SM Hypermarket in Mandaluyong.  Please excuse the grainy food shot - it was taken from my phone for a quick post on Instagram (see top photo), so no pics of ingredients and cooking process as well.  This dish was too good not to share on the blog, so here it is.

Hope you can try this out if you're craving for a simple and delicious instant Korean rice meal! =)

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
Get instant updates:
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I try my best to reply and answer any questions you may have on each entry so check back if you've left one. Thank you and do visit again!
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