Routines and hormones

I had my period today so I was feeling hormonal, read: easily distressed.

Your dad has started eating dinner and Miko kept coming up to him. I wasn't able to get Miko from dad because Ate wanted to comb my hair and wouldn't let me stand up from my chair in front of the TV. In short, dad got mad because his "nightly routine" got effed up.

He always says "may routine na kasi ako pagdating sa bahay" and that routine shouldn't be swayed. Maybe that's my problem. I couldn't understand routines because I don't have one. Maybe if I had a routine, I wouldn't have to eat while spoonfeeding 2 kids and breastfeeding another one all the same time. Maybe if I had a routine, I could have more than 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night.

Maybe routines and parenting don't mix. Routines suck. Hormonal imbalance sucks. I wish I slept earlier last night to prepare me for this day.

Sorry for the rant. I really just wanted to let it out. In retrospect, I think I'm really just jealous of how your dad can manage a routine, find time for his games and interests, etc. Not that I'm regreting the time spent with you. I just wish I had more time for me, to learn, to be quiet for more than 10 minutes, to bathe and poop without being rushed. Maybe things will get better when you're older and you can do more things on your own.

Who wouldn't have a heart attack? Disclaimer: more precarious positions were not photographed due to transient hypertension attacks.

I love you kids. I love your dad too. He just gets on my nerves sometimes. Some times more frequently than normal. Hay. But I love him nevertheless.

MacGyver and Sustaining Breastfeeding

I had my gall bladder removed last week. Unfortunately, I underestimated the procedure and thought I could go home after 24 hours. Wrong.

Because of this glitch, I only packed x number of bottles in preparation for the stay at the hospital. I figured I'd pump every 3 or 4 hours and then ask my anesthesiologist when can I resume breastfeeding. From our breastfeeding support group site, mothers were saying that women who underwent Cesarian Section delivery were allowed to breastfeed immediately. Seems logical. But I still had to confirm to ease my worries.

Remember I was pumping every 3-4 hours? Wrong move! Because of the increased time in between sessions, I was getting more milk and filling up my bottles faster than intended. By the time I was about to go to the operating room, I have filled up all the bottles that we brought. Uh oh.

When the anesthesiologist arrived in the Operating Room, I asked him if he was going to give me the same drug as what is used during childbirth. It wasn't. He said to wait for 24 hours before I actually breastfeed.

We waited, pumped and dumped (what a waste of milk, but better safe than sorry). After 24 hours, what to do now that we don't have bottles anymore? We thought that maybe Dad can go back home to get my milk storage bags. Kaya lang, I was really weak after the operation and needed help even with my personal businesses. So dad being away for more than 20 minutes does not seem feasible at that time.

That's when we shifted to MacGyver mode (this is the stuff of the 80s to 90s era hahaha) There was a nearby grocery store where dad bought zip-lock sandwich bags. It was the smallest size that he could find.

Zip-lock sandwich bags?? But these are...

• Not sterilized. May contaminate milk. Damn it, we are no longer sterilizing the bottles that Miko use at home. Pwede na yan.
• Not freezer safe. May rip when placed in freezer. We'll double up the bags. Pwede na yan.
• Not double zipped. May drip. Doble naman ang bags. Pwede na yan.

In the end, it was really pwede na since we had no other alternative. We even had different styles in packing the milk.

Dad was laying out the inner bag flatly inside the other one, then pour the milk into the two bags.

I poured the milk into one bag first, then jimmy the bag into the second one.

And that's how we survived sustaining breastfeeding even with no bottles. We were able to bring home about 900ml of milk for Miko! Thank God!

Want to hear more stories about my lap chole? I'll tell you in the next posts. :) I love you!

Finally, chocobutternut

Your dad and I had a cold war after I got home from my laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Paano ba naman, my first day coming from operation and he was out of the house already to get gifts from his friends. I felt like he was rushing out to get away from taking care of me. Okay, sorry for being self-centered, but during the drive home, I was telling him that I didn't need him there, but I want him to be. More for moral support than physical needs.

We were giving each other the silent treatment for a few days. Until he came home and brought this...

Chocobutternut!!

And I just caved in and remembered why I love him. Remember why? Read about it here.

For Ate

I thank God for your forgiving nature and the gift of your smile. You make mama happy with your quirkiness and disposition.

We call this the no-face face.

Happy face

Angry face

Sad face

Crying face. No tears, but you sniff your nose as added effect.

Crazy face

Crazy face 2. I think you're pulling the skin off your face here. Creepy!

Big smile to end the photo session :)

I love you Ate, my only girl, Bebang, Achi. You are mommy's eternal sunshine.

2015 Resolutions

I never really meant any of my previous New Year's Resolutions. This year, I want to really focus on them with an aim to end 2015 as a better person. Here it goes!

Live healthier. Less food portions. Healthier food choices. Be more active, at least walk around more.

Serve more. Serve dad, mom, darwin, kids, Franco, and even the help more. Serve God more, too.
I had kind of a feeling that we rely too much on lolo and lola to manage the household. Since lola is leaving for SG for a few months, I think it is a good training ground for us to be more independent and more responsible when it comes to raising you kids.
I hope I will be able to make you feel that your dad and me are always here for you. That in our family, you will always be secure and loved.

Strive for continuous improvement. Learn a new skill, or improve program processes. This is mostly grounded on my work tasks.

Save for the kids. The bible says "It isn’t the children’s responsibility to save up for their parents but parents for children" (2 Corinthians 12:14 CEB) and I want to honor that. These first years of our marriage has been a bit selfish for your dad and me. I want to rectify that. I am praying that God heals us from vanity and pride so we can focus on preparing for your future.

There you go. Four major points to keep in mind for 2015. Do you make New Year's Resolutions? Let me know so I can remind you when you forget.

You may also want to read about my other prayers for our family.

Buffet at Chef Laudico Guevarra's

Days before Christmas, your Dad and I went back to Manila (more on that on another post). Since it is time away from you (haha), we decided to also make plans for a quick dinner date at Chef Laudico Guevarra's.

I'm not much of a food critic. Food is food to me and it takes little to impress me. My baseline is your dad's cooking (naks!). I just wanted to share what I ate since we're removing my gallbladder in a few weeks, anyway. Hahaha. This will at least give it one last hurrah.

So anyway, we were too early for a 7:30pm reservation. We came at around 5:30pm and the current batch of guests being served were due to end at 6pm. We were told to wait for our reservation time, otherwise we will have to go at 6pm, too. 

No worries since their garden had plenty of seats to lounge in. We used the time to take pictures of the place.

Your dad doesn't like waiting. Keep that in mind.

So festive!

I usually start on Japanese food. But since this is a Filipino-food buffet, let's start with dessert! Meringue, palitaw and red velvet cupcakes.

Salad, lumpiang sariwa, and 2 other dishes that I forgot already.

Back to sweets! Maja blanca, macaroon, carrot cake and leche flan

Adobo rice, something, something, fish mayonesa (which inspired our Media Noche menu last New Year's Eve), and shrimps

2 kinds of pizza, lechon and lechon kawali

Dessert again! Meringue anf chocolate crinkles

Vanilla and ube ice cream

Salad, lumpiang sariwa and squid

I see you! Your dad was teasing me for all the fatty foods that I got.

Lechon! Sorry, gallbladder.

I think I was up to my neck in food. I was so full! Chef Laudico Guevarra's is so far the most value-for-money buffet restaurant that I've been to. This is actually the first buffet restaurant that costs less than Php500 that I have been to but all the food that I've tried tastes so good. (Rates are: Php399 for Mon-Fri lunch, Php499 for Mon-Thurs dinner and Php599 for Fri dinner to Sun dinner --- subject to VAT)

We will definitely be back at Guevarra's. Dad and I were already thinking of an event that we can celebrate there hahaha

Have you tried it? Bring me back there please! I love you!

You may also want to read about your dad's powers

Hallelujah Waffle Brownies

This is by far the bestest baked-not-baked goodie that we have made. It's a pre-mix, but I never expected it to be this good!!

Here it goes...

Goodbye Maya Pancakes. I found my new pre-mix love.

Goya Brownie Mix Chocolate Supreme (Php 165 only). Just cook it according to package instructions, which means combining 1/2 cup water, 1/3 cup oil and 1 egg, and mixing it with the brownie mix and a gooey chocolate syrup that comes with the mix.

We sprayed oil on our handy Imarflex waffle maker and put in about 1/4 cup mixture per section. Allow to cook for about 3 to 3.5 minutes per batch.

When I took it out of the waffle maker, it seemed too soft and I couldn't get a good solid piece since it keeps crumbling.

My camera phone doesn't do it justice

But, oh my God, when it cools down, you have such a delicious waffle brownie! It was crisp on the outside but moist on the inside. And. Oh. So. Chocolatey!

So surprisingly good that I had to rave about it with expletives.

Next time, we will add nuts and marshmallows. Or maybe even vanilla icecream. It's so good!!!

Ate is the best bowl cleaner ever. :)

Try this mix out and let me know what you think. Or if you happen to find a brownie recipe as good as this, let's try that! :)

You may also want to read about how I make lambing to your dad (no, that post is not for adults only!)

Banana oatmeal cake

Banana is a semi-staple food in our household, especially since Ate loves it so much. So when we started with our baked-not-baked goodies, it was the perfect ingredient to experiment on.

We first made banana bread using a rice cooker. (More on that on another post) This time, we are making it on our turbo broiler. :)

We got this recipe from panlasangpinoy.com. I made notations on the changes that I made.

Ingredients are:

• 1 cup mashed banana -- I used 4 medium sized slightly overripe ones.
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla essence -- I used 1 1/2 tsp
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour -- I used 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup of quick cook oatmeal
• 1 tsp baking soda -- I only have baking powder on hand, and I read here that "you will need 2 or 3 times as much baking powder for the same amount of baking soda to get the same amount of leavening power, and you may end up with something that’s a little bitter tasting, depending on the recipe". But, uhmm.. I just used 1 1/2 tsp baking powder this time.

Basically, just mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and all the wet ingredients in another. Once done, combine the two mixtures and put in a greased baking pan. You need to grease the pan to make sure the bread doesn't stick to it once done.

Remember we are using a turbo broiler for this recipe. We pre-heat the broiler at 350 deg Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Then we put in the baking pan and set the broiler for another 50 mins (still at 350 deg F).

See the center part? That was where your dad kept pinching off pieces to taste.

It was a hit! Everybody loved it, especially Miko! :) It was moist and had just the right amount of sweetness. If I were to improve on this recipe, I'd probably add more bananas or maybe add half a cup of sugar (to which I know your dad will contest), or maybe put in some nuts. Your Dad suggests adding frosting. I'll consider doing this when I need to make gifts for friends :)

Let's experiment some more in the kitchen okay? Read about our kitchen adventures here. I love you!