What's up with the new nightlight?

Leji loves light. She was delighted when along with the new baby proof sofabed came in a new upgrade to our humble home. The Wattsmart Energy Tracker Box! And yeah, it comes with the cool neon green light so you would know that it's working for you.

The logic is simple. To help cut on electricity costs, you have to be aware which appliances you have to minimize using or abstain from. Some may not realize that some appliance brands could 
be more efficient than others. Some may opt to cook or cool the room in other ways. Better yet, others may also use this to prove that it's worth investing in alternative methods of sourcing energy for their home or company.

At least now you don't have to guess. You could regularly monitor your consumption in the comfort of your own home.

Help spread the light! Wattsmart Philippines is currently on the lookout for marketing/PR interns. For students who are interested, kindly email your resume to janaaron.garcia@gmail.com 

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0-6 months: Top 5 Toys

Leji is growing up so fast. Now she can stand on her own and reach for items up the bed or counter. I can't help but thank the first toys that helped us get to where we are now & facilitated our bonding each day that God has blessed us with. Here are our top 5 favorites:

1. Rocker

I'm not sure if this is still safe to use now

that she's soon turning 9 months old; she constantly threatens to topple it over while strapped on the seat! Leji has a powerful core!haha, thank you Lord!

But we had a lot of fun times with this Bright Starts Pink Love Bumblebee Rocker. It has wonderful toys hanging on a striped arch. Her favorite one to reach and pounce was the mobile roller rattle. It's like a hollow mini rolling pin with lots of colorful pellets in it. 

2. Rabbit

Before she even got to watch Kate and Mim-Mim on Disney Junior, she already adored this soft and lean stuffed toy we named Melby. Leji loves to grab her by the ear & hug her to sleep.

3. Mini Spaceship

Mamas and Papas babyplay recommends this 2-stage floor support seat with play tray for 3 months and up; but premature Leji only became confident enough to use it at 5 months. Now she can't go thru mealtime without it! (She occasionally complains about sitting too long though. She usually signals that she wants to bathe & drink breastmilk after)

4. Stretchable catterpillar

Next to her Fisherprice Fairy Godmother wand rattle, this is her ultimate portable source of amusement. From Lamaze, it has a stretchable coil body that automatically shrinks back to its original form. It has a neon green happy face with a playful tangerine rattle ball tailend.

5. Squeaky Penguin

Some say babies initially get to see everything in black and white. I guess that explains how this little friend from Lamaze got her attention early on. Later on, she also liked the added bonus that it has satin covered wings/arms (she likes chewing on shiny/silky stuff lately) and its easy to grab handle actually squeaks. It never fails to brighten her mood.

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Museum Month: Baby checks out the National Museum

This entire month of May, it's actually free to visit the National Museum. We took Leji to one part of it for the first time last Saturday. We had a blast!

1. murals

My daughter loves warm colors and it was such a delight to show her colorful lifesize figures to introduce her to the world of history.

2. Spolarium

Juan Luna's spectacular obra remains to be the most popular work of art in the former House of Representatives. Leji was delighted by the angel that greeted us near the entrance.

3. sketches

Masters' elaborate pencil sketches and some of their tools are on display. I hope these would inspire my daughter to practice and eventually sketch her own stuff. (We started with crayons and cartolina at Burgoo the other night. She ended up tearing her work haha)

4. angels

Aside from portraits of the Madonna and Child, Leji just marveled at the sheer number of white angels on display. One even looked like her! 

5. special section

Some notable works were loaned from other museums & bank foundations. It's a rare chance to get to see them all under one roof!

I believe that everyone deserves to visit a museum at least once a month to recharge the spirit and inspire the soul.

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Barbie Barkada

When I was an only child for seven years I only had my Barbie dolls to talk to most of the time. Ma seldom allowed me to go out so I spent most of the time singing and talking to them in my room. With Barbie, you really can be anything. Here were some of my favorites:

1. Medical Barbie

I sewed white napkins and pretended to cure/examine them as my patients in a hospital. I had a shoe box as my bed haha

2.  Soiree Barbie 

I had a posh mini kitchen and a lounge bar from my Ninang so we had tons of parties. I saved old boxes and turned them into swimming pools. I also made them kiss my teddy bears because Ma was unwilling to buy a Ken.

3. Salon Barbie

I had a short-haired curly Barbie (that hairstyle was so in in the 80s!) & I made her convince her friends to get a trim. I just applied a few drops of baby oil (hotoil!) & pretended to cut. When I turned them over to my sister when I was nine, she gave them actual haircuts that didn't turn out well.. I cried.

4. Mermaid Barbie

My sister thought our Mermaid Barbie really meant what she said ("I want to swim!") when you pressed her tail. She threw the doll into the kiddie pool & actually made her swim in water. All she could do was gurgle the recording after. It was sad. She used to have a shiny purple tail and thick burgundy hair. It got ruined after the actual pool party. Oh well. Mermaids should only swim in our dreams.

5. Beach Barbie

This was my favorite. She had a nice golden swimsuit, blonde hair with some metallic strands, and a lovely tan. She even came with free piña colada lipgloss that was so fab.  I made her borrow my other Barbie's dresses when we had evening soirees because she really was the loveliest.

Oh well. I had my share of fun with Barbie. I'll always be part of Team Pink!

Last Sunday, my baby and I caught up with Barbie's party at MOA. It was exhilirating as fans cheered for their favorite models and Andi Eigenmann. After their movie's success in Cannes,

Andi said girls should not be afraid to

dream big just like Barbie!

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Zette's Cafe Opening

Even before Filipino Ms Supranational Canada Suzette Hernandez was born, there was already a Suzette Hernandez who was hailed as one of the most beautiful in Bicol. Her list of achievements and socio-civic works continues to flourish as she re-opens her art gallery Kulayara, and aptly named Zette's Cafe, in San Juan.

Nestled in this quaint neighborhood are some of the finest art by contemporary Filipino masters like Hermes Alegre, Fil Delacruz, Romulo Galicano, Raul Isidro, Gig de Pio and Ephraim Samson.

Brass and jazz play in her neatly manicured garden.

Little beings enjoy a dip in her mini fountain area.

Bb Pilipinas queens Parul Shah and Elaine Kay Moll showed their full support as they donned Filipiñana inspired outfits to complement the artwork on display.

I'll definitely come back one of these days; hopefully there will be more parking space on an ordinary weekday. Their chocolate cakes are divine :)

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In line with Museum Month: Treasures of Venice

In an effort to save time and money, we availed of the Venice Museum Pass. However, we found out later on that lines weren't as long in the museums there as there were in Florence (but the tourism office that sells the unli museum pass is more strategically located in Venice; it was right at the port entry!) It would have been more practical to get an all-day ferry a.k.a. taxi pass (because it's actually more expensive to ride public transport in Venice than in Rome) but they didn't have anything like that.

But to be fair, it was actually quite delightful to have some of the museums to ourselves that day. (Although some were quite tough to spot--because of the limited number of fans)

It was quite a challenge to find some of the museums like the Jewish Museum because it was nestled deep in the heart of the quiet Jewish community. Here we found remarkable silver pieces like these:

We also found holy books intricately bound in precious metal.

We were ushered to the blow glass capital Murano in a hotel-sponsored sailboat.  In their glass museum, we found pieces that tell stories.

When we visited quaint churches to pray and warm ourselves that cold winter, we also found unexpected intricacies in ivory.

Despite the agua alta (high tide) we had to endure one night with our plastic shoes, museum hopping was actually quite fun in the city where it's fun to get lost. Just follow the teenagers and their troops would lead you to the next convenience store where you could grab cheap drinks after. haha

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Soup Monster

My bubbly 8 month old is now comfortable with solid food. I try to mix breastmilk with everything she eats; she enjoys eating broccoli, fish, potatoes, cereals, peas, carrots, squash & ground beef. But when we're out, she loves trying soups in various restaurants. Here are her top picks:

1. Pako soup (from Costa Pacifica Baler)

2. Mushroom Soup (Recovery Room, Tomas Morato)

3. Upland Rice Puree (Antonio's, Tagaytay)

4. Pumpkin soup (Frazzled Cook, QC)

5. Chili Con Carne Soup-- with less spice! (Rumpa, Pampanga)

Basically we just mash everything up. I try it first with my spoon, then she tests it with hers. Eating out is definitely more fun nowadays.

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