half-y birthday, ball!

The Ball celebrated her half birthday this month! She also got a taste of solids for the first time.

Not that kind of solid.

At first, she wasn’t particularly interested in food other than mama’s milk.

Then she decided to give it a chance.

And just like Poppy and Basha, one more chance.

The day after her first solid meal, she had one big poop unlike any other poop. I guess it’s the start of the fiercer poops! Good luck to us!

She also had a 6-in-1 vaccination that morning. Fortunately, I think Audrey inherited my high tolerance for pain and only cried for a few seconds after the shot was administered. Afterwards she was back to being her ballself, albeit with a slight fever in the evening.

It's my party, I can have a fever and still party!

Of course, we celebrated her half birthday with cake, spaghetti, barbecue, and chicken. 

Can’t believe it’s been six months! Next thing you know, graduate na siya! Huhuhu

Ooh, can that be my next meal, mama?

baguio eats

My husband's family loves to eat out. That's why on vacations, they usually know good places to eat. Here are some of the places we ate at during our short stay in Baguio.

Bistro by Hill Station
Our first dinner in Baguio. We've eaten here before, and as per previous experiences, arrived earlier than the dinner time crowd since the place gets full easily. No photos, as I am a (somewhat) new blogger and often forget to take a picture of food. I ordered the Herb Roasted Chicken with mountain rice, and the Panda ordered the Pork something. Both our dishes came with a salad served with bagoong, and as neither of us like bagoong, our salads went untouched. Except I ate some of the tomatoes and leaves that didn't have bagoong on them.

Wood Nymph
According to the Panda, this restaurant has been in Baguio for a looooong time. I only started eating Korean food when I traveled with the Panda and his family. It took maybe two or three times before I really liked it. My family is an Italian-Filipino-Spanish cuisine type of family. Some Chinese and Japanese and American, but mostly pizza, pasta, and fine Filipino food.

Back to Wood Nymph. We ordered the Samgyupsal (spelling?) and Beef Spareribs that we grilled at our table. Actually, Kuya Server did. We grilled the last remaining pieces. It was yummy, and it came with mountain rice and those Korean side dishes. I think you're supposed to eat the meats with the fresh lettuce they bring to the table, but being the healthy vegetarians that we are (see the fate of our Hill Station salads above), we scarfed down the meats and ignored the greens.

I believe Korean restaurants now are serving what they call bingsu, or "snowed" milk with fruits. We got the strawberry one, being in Baguio and all, and I prayed to the Lord that I won't die from hypothermia. If it wasn't a new item on the menu, I would have preferred hot chocolate.

The dessert was a very pleasant surprise! I generally like milk, and the texture of the bingsu was so unusual and interesting. The strawberries could have been sweeter, but I really liked the milk snow.

The milk "snow" was icy yet light, like snowflakes

Will be ordering this again, preferably here in Manila where a cool dessert like bingsu will be extra yummy on a hot day.

Green Pepper
We had planned on eating at Canto at the Ketchup Food Community near Wright Park, to see what the fuss and long line was about. But there was still a line when we got there, so we decided to eat at Green Pepper instead. We had wild mushroom soup.

And also this dish. I think this was....barbecued pork? I need more practice blogging.

I really liked what we ordered. I had wanted some of their moist chocolate cake, advertised outside their place (and partly why I wanted to eat there), but unfortunately they were out of slices.

So we had coffee instead.

Lemon & Olives
Another new kid on the block, we tried to have lunch here on our third day, but they were full. So we went at dinnertime instead. It was a Sunday evening, so most Manila-based weekenders already went home. They do not accept reservations during the weekend, so I would suggest getting there early. We arrived just before sunset and snagged a table outside with a great view.

Alapaap

...Gusto niyo bang sumama?

Lemon & Olives is a Greek restaurant, and their menu sounded Greek to us, so we relied on the server's recommendation for what to order. This time, I made notes of what we ate. Actually I just took a photo of their menu. Once you read about it, you'll understand why I would NEVER be able to remember what we ordered.

Poikilia (Greek appetizers) with Greek village sausage, spicy soutzouki sausage, saganaki cheese, tzatziki dip, and pita bread.

Souvlaki plate: Grilled meat with the Chef's secret Greek sauce, served with pita bread and fries, and accompanied with garlic, chili, and tzatziki dips. We ordered the Lamb, Chicken, and Beef mixed plate. (Or was it Lamb, Chicken, and Pork?)

I'm not usually a fan of Greek food, but this one was actually very good. Panda ordered rice so I practically ate all the pita bread pieces by myself. At the end of the meal there were only a couple of pieces left, and as we were heading back to the hotel I regretted not finishing them off.

Since there's only so many meals in a day, we didn't get to sample every restaurant we would have wanted to try. But thanks to the TPLEX, Baguio is getting nearer and nearer to Manila, and there would be plenty of chances next time.

barangay ball in baguio

Our little family trooped to Baguio last weekend for a short getaway. The Panda spent the last six months being a new father and campaigning for our new VP, so this mini vacation was his rest period.

Of course, Audrey the Ball had to go with us. And when Audrey goes with us, the whole barangay goes as well.

Baguio, baby!

She'll be turning six months old this July, so we already wanted to take her somewhere more than two hours away from Manila, to see how she is on vacation.

Looks like she's fine with long drives.

We left Friday around 9:30 AM from Quezon City. We had planned to have lunch at Matutina's in Urdaneta, but we got there past noon and the place was FULL. So we decided to drive on. Panda remembered that there was a Mang Inasal in Pozorrubio, so we first bought some corn to tide us over until we could have lunch. But Mang Inasal was also overflowing with people, so we drove on to Rosario where we finally had lunch at Chowking.

We arrived in Baguio at around 3PM. It was the first time we stayed at The Forest Lodge, and we were pleasantly surprised to see that the one-bedroom we booked was very spacious. The sofa in the living area was quite roomy, and made for a good bed for Yaya, who stayed with us in the room. The room was bigger than Manor's one-bedroom suite, we got it cheaper, plus it includes a buffet breakfast. When it comes to hotel deals, the Panda has really got it down.

Living and dining area (from the bedroom)

The biggie sofa that can serve as an extra bed. Say hi to the ball!

Our kalat at the closet area.

Our kalat at the TV area in the bedroom. First time I've seen this room layout in a hotel, with the TV in the center of the room.

Our kalat in the two queen beds. Kalat ko lang pala.

We made sure to pack sweaters and long sleeves and sleepsacks for the Ball. She likes the cold, unlike her mama. Still, we didn't want her to be uncomfortable in the cold Baguio weather. It's a good thing she had a surplus of clothes, because she peed through her pajamas and sleepsack the first night while the Panda was changing her diaper. Sigh.

One of our favorite places to go to whenever we're in Baguio is the Cantinetta cafe by Illy. It's beside Starbucks near Camp John Hay, the one not in Technohub. We like it there because unlike the Starbucks next door, the place is always quiet and cool. People prefer Starbucks so there's almost always no people when we go, which is how we like it. Besides, I like Illy coffee better than Starbucks.

We brought along the Ball with us, while the rest of the barangay stayed at the room to rest for a bit. She liked looking out the open window at the trees and feeling the cool breeze.

Audrey having an Adele moment

Hello, it's me!

When we were babyless, we used to bring our laptops and do some work or some other stuff at Illy (which has free wifi), and stay there for a while. A baby on vacation really does change a lot of your schedule. Right after we finished our pizza and coffee, we decided to head back to the hotel before Audrey got cranky.

Outside Cantinetta

The next day we went to Good Shepherd to buy ube jam and some of their other products. We also took some pictures around the area.

Audrey wondering where we are and why she has a bonnet on.

Mama and Ball

Afterwards, we went around the shops near Mines View. It was 11AM and getting hot, though, and I felt Audrey getting a bit warm. She had on a onesie under her long-sleeved pajamas, and I was wearing her so she had on extra layers. We went home afterwards.

NEXT on the blog: Places we ate at. Sarap!

places i've pumped

We just got back from Pampanga yesterday after conducting a two-day training session on Communication and Design Thinking for our public school principals for Excel. Running it meant being away from Audrey for 8 straight hours, which happens rarely because I bring her to work on regular days and I haven't been out on a social trip that lasted 8 hours.

Eight hours without baby means I absolutely have to pump milk. For the benefit of non-lactating people, breastfeeding mothers need to pump when away from the baby so that:

1. our milk supply does not drop. Milk supply is dependent on demand, so if there is no action to extract milk from the breast, the body thinks you no longer need milk and consequently reduces supply. Pumping removes milk when mom and baby are not together so the body continues to produce milk.

2. we avoid getting infections. When the breasts get engorged with milk and it is not expressed, it can lead to plugged milk ducts, which can lead to a painful condition known as mastitis, an infection of the breast tissue. Mastitis may require surgery if not treated right away. Pumping relieves engorgement and therefore reduces our risk of getting plugged ducts.

3. if ever we need to be apart again, baby still has food because mama pumped milk and has several bags of milk ready in the fridge.

I once spilled milk right after pumping and almost had a heart attack.

Because I would be away for 8 hours, I planned on pumping three times throughout the day. Thankfully, during the first module of our training program, the DepEd Superintendent, Sir Ding, allowed me to pump in the anteroom of his office. So I knew that at least I'll have a private place to pump milk.

I've pumped in more random places. I've also read about Bianca Gonzales-Intal who pumped in her seat under a shirt while watching an NBA game live. Also a mom who pumped while watching Les Miserables in Solaire. I mostly pump milk at my office and a few times in legit breastfeeding stations. Other than that, so far, I've pumped milk at/in:

1. the car, on the way to wherever we have to go (several times; car tints are lifesavers)
2. the car, while parked (several times as well--in parking lots outside a restaurant, across the US Embassy, outside DepEd Pampanga)
3. Funeraria Paz (not their restroom, but at the actual room of the wake. Thankfully it was 8 in the morning so there were no other visitors but my high school friends and me)
3. The waiting area beside the ladies' restroom at CCP
4. DepEd Division of Pampanga Superintendent's office's anteroom
5. At a corner of the Teachers' Training Center in DepEd Pampanga

At the DepEd Pampanga Superintendent's office

I once wondered if I could pump while watching a show in CCP. But I use an electric pump and it's not exactly the quietest machine in the world.

Indeed, you never truly realize the needs of other people (especially the marginalized) until you experience their life for yourself. I never once thought about breastfeeding stations even when I knew a lot of breastfeeding mothers. Now that I am one, I'm beginning to see which places here are really mother- and baby-friendly. There's a law mandating companies to provide lactation rooms and lactation breaks for working and nursing moms, but I feel we still have a long way to go before breastfeeding and pumping mothers are given the space they need to feed their children.

training preps

Have not been able to update this blog for over a week. The Excel team has been busy preparing for the second module of our Leadership Development Program for school heads in Pampanga tomorrow until Friday. We will be tackling communication and design thinking/innovation for these principals. My staff--all two of them--are new hires, so we have been inserting transition and turnover stuff in the midst of our preps. I myself have been reviewing and getting ready to conduct a design thinking crash course for the second day of our seminar. Thank God for nonprofits like IDEO and schools like Stanford that provide free resources for budget-constrained organizations like us. Thank God as well that I took that design thinking course at Penn. I'm actually quite excited and anxious at the same time.

My supplies arsenal

I'm hoping to be able to squeeze out our Fellows' creative juices enough that they are able to come up with innovative solutions for some of their schools' problems. Our goal really is to support them in improving the quality of education in their respective schools, which benefits not only the students, but everyone in the community as well. When they begin to communicate well and think in innovative ways, who knows what leaps the school can make with regard to improvements.

Great schools produce great (and happy) students!

We travel to Pampanga today. Of course, the baby goes with us, so the house goes with us as well.

Did we forget anything?

Internet is slow where will be, so updates on our training will have to wait. In the meantime, let me get back to reviewing.

happy 5th month audrey!

Yesterday we celebrated our daughter's 5th month with a small handaan. We've been marking her "monthsaries" since her first month. Before I became a mother, I had this belief that celebrating monthsaries for a baby was a little too much. Motherhood does indeed change you in more ways than one.  I've come to the conclusion that baby celebrations are really for the parents, not for the kid. So it doesn't matter that our daughter won't remember her 5th monthsary cake, because we will (and it was delicious!). And in this age of cameraphones, Audrey will be able to see just how much we loved having her every month.

Cake is always good

Her parties are nothing fancy, though, and we celebrate it with the people in our household. Last night we had spaghetti, barbecue, chicken, and crispy pata. We served spaghetti to everyone in our building for merienda in the afternoon.

The barangay with the Ball

Can't have a picture without Papa!

I can't believe it's been five months since we welcomed Audrey to our family. That means I haven't had a decent night's sleep in five months, but I wouldn't trade our little ball of cuteness and love for all the sleep in the world.

Praying you'll always be a happy baby

Happy 5th month my darling! Mama and Papa love you so much!

NGO Spotlight on Excel PH

Excel Center for Educational Leadership (Excel) is the NGO that I started two years ago to address a gap in the public education sector.

When you think of NGOs addressing education, you think of poor but deserving students. Scholarships. Books. School supplies. Support for underachieving students. These are the usual forms of support that NGOs provide to public schools and their students. All well and good, those students deserve to go to school and receive quality education as much as anybody else.

The school head influences the kind of environment our students learn in.

Which is why Excel focuses on training public school principals on leadership. The principal is the head of the school; his or her decisions and actions impact not only the school but also the community. Under poor leadership by a principal, no matter how much scholarship money the students receive, quality education is just beyond their grasp. We need both student support and teacher support in order for our public education system to improve.

Excel trains new principals and head teachers in the area of personal leadership and community engagement. We aim to complement the Department of Education's own principal training program, through the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), which provides the more technical aspects of leadership and management within the structure of the DepEd. Our goal at Excel is that our principals develop their own personal strengths as leaders in order to fully engage their community and think more innovatively.

Excel's second batch of Fellows from Pampanga are ready to hone their leadership skills.

We are inviting you (yes, you, dear reader) to be our partner in strengthening our principals' leadership skills. You can actually "Adopt a Fellow" by donating just P200 to Excel. That P200 will shoulder the food and materials of one of our Fellows for one seminar. Our Leadership Development Program is composed of four modules or four seminars. If you want to adopt one Fellow for the whole duration of the LDP, you can donate P800. If you're feeling particularly generous, you can also sponsor our entire batch of Pampanga Fellows for one seminar--25 Fellows for P4500 for their food and materials. If you're really looking to unload a couple hundred thousand pesos, you can also fund the costs of training a whole batch for the entire LDP, including speakers, transportation,  and accommodation via our corporate sponsorship packages. Our Pampanga batch is now halfway done, but you can opt to sponsor the remaining two seminars OR sponsor our next one.

Several ways to support our principals!

To know more about us or how you can help, you can visit www.excelph.org or shoot us an email at marketing@excelph.org.

audrey at the dfa

This morning our family had a little field trip over at the DFA Aseana office in Parañaque to apply for a passport for Audrey. Since I also needed to renew my passport to reflect my married name and updated civil status, I booked a family appointment for us at their online appointment website (www.passport.com.ph) for 7:30am.

We got to DFA before 7 as you are supposed to be there 30 minutes prior to your appointment. Initially we were directed to the Courtesy Lane section, for senior citizens, PWDs, pregnant women, and minors under age 7. However, that service was apparently for the aforementioned people without online appointments. We were told to have our printed online application forms verified by DFA personnel.

Fortunately, not being in the Courtesy Lane did not mean we were not given priority (as applicants with an infant). While we waited for the counters to open at 7:30, my husband photocopied my passport just outside the area. I made the mistake of printing out a scanned copy of just the information page of my passport (I had forgotten my passport when I was photocopying the requirements). If you have the e-Passport, you need both pages—the personal information page, where all your details are written, as well as the adjoining page.

Photocopy BOTH pages.

The kind lady officer directed Audrey and me to sit with the senior citizens. After a few minutes, Audrey woke up, and thank heavens did not make a fuss. At 7:24 (I checked my watch when their boss lady told everyone to open their counters), they started processing the priority applicants, us included. 

After checking our requirements, we then headed to the second floor to pay the fees. They grouped us again with other priority applicants so we were able to finish quickly.

The last step is encoding, where you have your picture taken. Since we were the first batch of appointments for the day, our number was almost immediately called. Most of the counters were open so they were able to serve everyone who was done at the cashier. Audrey had her photo taken first, sitting on top of a box on the chair with me holding her under her arms. This took a lot of arm power on my part since I had to crouch down while holding her up so I won’t be seen by the camera. I also had to grasp her under her shirt so my hands would be hidden. Then, thanks to a combination of the officer’s stapler and Harvey’s “Audrey! Look here! Audrey!”, we were able to snap a pretty good passport picture of our baby. It took several tries, but fortunately Audrey cooperated.

Why yes, I have extra long arms.

If you won’t be availing of the courier service to have your passport delivered, you’re done at this stage. We wanted ours delivered so we spent a few extra minutes paying for the delivery service.

Total time at DFA (including waiting time): 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Total time of the passport renewal and application process for Audrey and me: 40 minutes. Not bad!

P.S. 

Suggestion for DFA:

If you will require a personal appearance of infants for passport application, please have easy access to restrooms with changing tables. Audrey pooped after the first step, and we were told we could change her in the second floor. Once we got there, though, the guard told us the restroom was downstairs and outside. So we had to go back down. Then because there was no changing table, we just laid the baby in between the sinks with a blanket. The space was big enough, but barely. Audrey kept grabbing at the sinks (which were raised) while I changed her.

Our makeshift changing table

On the other hand, thank you for the quick service and clear instructions. Except for the Courtesy Lane/Online Appointment mix up, things went smoothly. All in all a good experience.

Note: Because the taking of video and photo is not allowed inside the DFA, I took the liberty of just sketching our experience. As you can see, I have exceptional skills.

the robredo reputation

(Or, The Robredo Reputation vs the Marcos Millions)

"A sterling reputation is better than striking it rich; a gracious spirit is better than money in the bank."

-Proverbs 22:1 (The Message)

I was reminded of this verse today while pondering the highly anticipated vice presidential race between Leni Robredo and Bongbong Marcos. I am very much for Robredo, as are majority of my Facebook friends (at least, those whose opinions I actually value). But I also see pro-Marcos comments on various posts, some level-headed, some...not so much.

It's in this great debate that Proverbs 22:1 rings true. Jesse Robredo left an excellent legacy behind; his reputation of being matino at mahusay was celebrated by the nation--albeit belatedly--and praised by politicians. His family, who have always stayed low-key, were suddenly thrust in the spotlight.

And here we see that a sterling reputation is indeed better than riches. Jesse Robredo's untarnished name, coupled with his and Leni's character and a  fine upbringing of their three daughters, has managed to kindle a spark of empowerment in millions of Filipinos. In the Robredo family we saw how humility is a vital ingredient in power, how a good name is more influential than billions of pesos, and how important one's family is in the shaping of one's character.

For the millions who voted for Leni in the VP race and will not stand for another Marcos in power, the achievements of Ferdinand Marcos the dictator during his 20 years in office pale in comparison to the human rights violations committed in his tenure. The Marcos name became synonymous with torture, extravagance, corruption. The effect of this tarnished name is now felt by the junior Marcos, who has repeatedly refused to acknowledge the human rights violations during martial law. So despite the millions of dollars the Marcos family has in various offshore accounts, it could not buy the good name and integrity that many Filipinos have found in the Robredo family.

If and when Leni Robredo is proclaimed vice president, I am sure that somewhere, Jesse Robredo would be proud of how his family protected and upheld the name he left behind. He would be mighty pleased that Aika, Tricia, and Jillian are living off of the lessons he and Leni imparted to them, rather than living off of big bank accounts.

Happy birthday, Sec. Jesse! May your legacy of good governance and exceptional public service live on through your family and every person whom you have inspired. Dios Mabalos!

As they call you in Naga, Happy Birthday Pogi!

NGO Spotlight on Kaya Natin

Today's NGO is Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership.

This is the group started by the late Sec. Jesse Robredo, former governor Ed Panlilio, and former governor Grace Padaca, together with my husband and me, way back in 2008. KN has served as the support group for like-minded government officials. If you need someone to vent out to because your police chief refuses to arrest the top drug lord in your city, if you need ideas on how to streamline government services in your municipality, if you need support for your proposed bill on transparency, the KN members are all there to help each other out. We also do youth leadership trainings and trainings for public officials, depending on our partner organizations.

The KN Champions of Good Governance

We have over 40 local and national government officials as members, including the presumptive Vice President-elect Leni Robredo, widow of our founder. It's like Alcoholics Anonymous, only we're not alcoholics, and we're not anonymous.

We are addicted though, but to a good thing--good governance.

If you want to be a proactive citizen and be involved in all things governance and politics, by all means sign up as a KN volunteer here. We'd love to have you! 

the trouble with parenting books

When we found out I was pregnant, my husband bought the holy grail of pregnancy books, What to Expect When You're Expecting. It was quite useful for us, and gave me a good sense of, well, what to expect in my pregnancy. I was very fortunate that my gestation went smoothly. Of course, I got the usual annoying pregnancy side effects--nausea and vomiting, hunger, frequent bathroom trips. But for the most part, I didn't get all the other symptoms associated with carrying a human being in your womb. My biggest concern then was the rate of my weight gain, but I had it under control by the third trimester.

Sometime during the fifth month, my husband and I went to the Manila Book Fair, where he bought the sequel to our WTE book: the What to Expect During the First Year. I started reading it when I was in my eighth month.

If you read a parenting book while you are still pregnant, chances are you will feel a mixture of dread and determination. What these books don't tell you is that once you are holding a crying newborn in your arms, in a zombie-like state, you can only think of one thing: "WHAT DID THE BOOK SAY! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!!!!"

In real life, the baby would be on her right hand. And the left as well. And the book would be nowhere to be found.

Once I started to get into the rhythm of things, and getting used to not sleeping well, I looked forward to Audrey's third month because that's when the book said she'll start to sleep longer stretches at night and would need fewer feedings. I held on to that promise (okay, the book didn't promise, but it's what I expected. It's the title of the book!) whenever Audrey would wake up for the fourth time during the night demanding the boob. A few more weeks, I would think. Just a few more weeks of this.

Fast forward to my daughter's four-month mark, and I can't find the chapter on What To Expect When Your Baby Is Not A Textbook Baby And Still Wakes Up Three to Four Times At Night. I go online, and there are two responses:

"Oh, that sucks! My baby started sleeping through the night as soon as he was born."

"My daughter woke up ten times at night until she was eighteen years old."

Hyperboles (obviously), but you get the point.

I figure I'll just go with the flow and sooner or later, she'll be giving me more than three hours' sleep at a time.

Besides, how can you be mad at someone who wakes up this way?

I've learned not to expect long stretches of sleep from this little one, so that I am pleasantly surprised whenever she gives me a rare three or four hour stretch.

Because #ExpectationsHurt

But then, perhaps I could start reading WTE chapters to Audrey as bedtime stories so she'll know what I expect of her.