the canDIshhh tales

I have long forgotten that babies need different kinds and types of food to help them with the real solid food.  I honestly forgot what I fed Kailee and Connor apart from the usual lugaw, meat broth and oatmeal.  I knew of those baby food brands from seeing them inside Healthy Options - but the thing was, they're quite pricey.  Yes, pricey - you see there's this impression that healthy food are quite - expensive because you pay for quality.  But I don't think that's necessarily the case all the time.  As you know, Shobe came as a surprise to all of us - and I saw flashbacks of what I needed to do, sleepless nights, breastfeeding and her first taste of solid food! I was very lucky that my friend, Marie introduced me to Byba , the baby food made in Spain that she is distributing.  She gave me samples to try - and boy, did Shobe like them.  At first, I was skeptical - because to be honest - I never did follow this route - it was always lugaw, soup, misu...

Johnson's Baby has been around for a quite a while.  For the longest time, the packaging design has been the same.  It has been iconic in my opinion.  When you see the shape, you'll immediately associate it with J&J Baby products.  So you can imagine my surprise and delight  when I opened the box - I was wonderfully surprised to see the NEW and IMPROVED Johnson and Johnson products!  They look so pretty and refreshing, don't you think? This care package came at the most perfect time - my little Shobe will be able to use the different products!  And what's more is that they're created for our little ones!  Look: This is the first time I've seen Johnson's Cotton Touch lotion, even more surprised that it is a face AND body lotion!  Now that's a first for me from the brand!  I love how they made this especially for newborns, isn't that special? It's so refreshing to see the new packaging that we got very excited and i...

I'm sure it has happened to you more than once.  You run out on Chuckie or Fresh Milk.  Well, it always happens to us.  My kids would consume more than they should and by the middle of the week, I've run out and I would need to run to the nearest grocery store to replenish my stash. In this day and age, where time is so precious - we are very lucky that we have technology on our side.  Recently, I learned about a milk subscription plan from my good friend Kris - she handles Goodfood.ph  (please click the link and browse the site) It's such a convenient way to make sure that our milk staples are always in stock in our pantries!  Kailee absolutely loves Chuckie and I love milk, but there are times that we consume more that what I buy on our usual supermarket run - so this really solves the problem - a subscription plan that specifically suits our needs.  You can see on the site that they have different subscription plans for their read to dri...

When I was younger, my mom would wake up really early in the morning to prepare our traditional birthday misua.  I never realized how tedious this task was until I was a bit older.  I would see my mom sweat over slicing the ingredients by hand one by one and cooking them in batches and then finally plating them so beautifully.  She would tell me that she learned all of this from her grandmother.  As we grew older, my mom would teach our cook to make it, but it was still different from how she made it - I guess it's because she made it with lots of love and sacrifice. Fast forward to years later, when I got married - it was my duty to 'make' misua for my Panget.  To be honest, I never learned how - the only way I knew was to 'buy' misua.  But our usual supplier was well, in my opinion wasn't 'masarap' anymore.  They may have changed recipe or cook, but it was really not so good anymore.  As I was scouting for a new supplier - I was introduced...

Yes, and it's back to school for us! Summer flew by so quickly. But the kids are excited. I am well, not very - because that means scheduling conflicts. Now, Connor gets off at 1pm. I suddenly have a problem of - do I have lunch before I leave?  or do I have lunch when I get back? How do I pump my milk for Shobe?  My milk supply has not been outstanding - it has been just enough for Shobe.  My right boob is not working - and so it really frustrates me so much!  I am sad but what can I do right?  I was told to slow down, but how does one slow down - I mean really?  Remember when I slowed down during Holy Week, only to get really really sick?  It was so ironic really - but what was I to do but roll with the punches? So many crazy things really and I'm starting to adjust. Add to that - my aunt, the sister of my mom who was recently diagnosed with recurrence of endometrial cancer.  I have been the runner for her and her needs.  I hav...