My Baby Snake

When I heard that a chicken chop (ji-pai) shop had opened in Manila this March, I was looking forward to the day I was going to taste my favorite Taiwanese street food again. It's been too long since I've had ji pai, and I was already drooling thinking about it.  And so, with a couple of free hours on our hands, I got MH to drive me to Blue Bay Walk (just across Blue Wave, near MOA) to go and satisfy my cravings.   Hot Star Large Fried Chicken did NOT disappoint. :)  Oh, Taiwan chi-pai, how I've missed you so! Facade of Hot Star, which is located beside Army Navy (Blue Bay walk, Macapagal Avenue) This is what you see when you enter. You order at the counter and pick up your food at the blue window.  I love how the order counter and pick up counter of the restaurant looks like it was made out of container vans.  After paying for your order, you can sit down and wait. The number on your receipt will appear on the black TV hanging on the left...

Celebrating MBS's first Christmas at Edsa Shangri-la hotel :) I was more than excited to buy a female Santa Claus costume for MBS to celebrate the season to be jolly :) I saw the perfect attire being sold at Cutie Tots online shop. My little Ms. Santa Claus My two Christmas gifts :)  What do you want for Christmas? :) A merry Christmas from MBS and family :)

Today is a bittersweet day for the breastfeeding mother in me.  Today, MBS officially starts with formula milk. I still have a few bags of breast milk left in the freezer, but the advice of many is to test the formula milk first to see if MBS gets any allergies.  I tasted the milk a bit; I couldn't resist. And, surprisingly, it does taste like breast milk. hehe :)  Let's see how the feeding goes! :)

The thought of having to buy formula milk saddens me.  MBS is 7 months now, and my milk supply is decreasing. I have, at most, a week's supply of frozen breast milk in my chest freezer right now.  I know that I should buy formula milk already, but the thought really saddens me. I feel like something really personal and meaningful to me is being taken away.  I've been feeling stressed out lately due to my minimal milk supply. And I know that stress is one main factor that causes that decrease. But the worry kicks in when I know that my milk supply isn't enough for MBS anymore.  I'm not giving up though. I just have to give in to the fact that I need to mix feed MBS with formula milk and breast milk.  MBS's pediatrician recommended Enfalac A+. I need to go formula milk shopping soon. :( ...at least it was a good 7 months of pure breastfeeding - that's something that I can still be proud of. 

Daddy, this show looks interesting. Daddy, I don't think like this show. Daddy, what is that?! Daddy, what will happen next? Daddy, I'm scared. Daddy, let's stick with this show. 

Lately, I've been hearing and reading a lot of good feed back about the cronuts (croissant-doughnuts) of a stall in Rockwell called Bronuts .  Since it's only available in Rockwell during weekends, I just had to try it when I went there last Sunday. The Bronuts stall is part of the mall's Baker's Dozen fair at the ground floor, and is located directly in front of McDonald's. We got to the Bronuts stall a few minutes past six. Lo and behold, only one flavor was left. The other flavors were sold out. And the line was still long!  This made me even more curious. I lined up and got six pieces of the remaining flavor - Belgian Chocolate with Salted Caramel - which was incidentally their best seller. The cashier mentioned that they always made more batches for their Belgian Chocolate. One box holds six pieces of cronuts, and was cheaper by around Php 10/piece.  A single piece costs Php 110. A box of 6 is Php 600. For me, the Belgian Chocolate with Salted Carame...

A few weeks ago, I had to travel to Canada without MBS.  With the long haul flight and being outside my own comfort zone, I realized I was going to have a hard time with pumping and breast milk handling. Thoughts of where I was going to pump, how I was going to pump (in public areas) worried me.  So, I'd have to say that I was immensely happy when I saw the Infant Feeding Station at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2. The station is located at the left end of the waiting area after you pass the carry-on luggage X-ray and metal detector.  The sign of the station was a bit hard (for me) to see because firstly, I have blurry vision and secondly, the sign was way smaller than the MASSAGE sign beside it.  But the station was truly a welcome sight, esp. since it's air-conditioned inside. I got a chance to beat the warm temperature in the waiting area for a while. :) Hopefully someday, all airports will soon be equipped with their o...