Sneak Peek - Sofia's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Sofia's first birthday by throwing a party on her actual birthday, which fell on a Sunday. I am still waiting for the pictures, but here are some I grabbed from the photographer's Facebook page. 

I originally wanted to have a nautical theme - navy blue, pink and white. But it was difficult to source out the balloons and the favors and everything else in these colors, so I had to change it. I thought of doing a sailboat theme, and I had great ideas for sailboat invites and dessert bar. But then our help-less situation at home made it very difficult to implement my DIY ideas, so I was forced to change themes again. What I ended up was a simple royal blue, fuchsia and light pink themed party. And you know what? I think it worked out beautifully. The color combination was something so different and fresh  and something only a crazy mind like mine would think of. Gotta love that!

Watch out for more kwentos about the party, ok? I promise to write about it as soon as I get the photos from the photographer.

Breakfast Photos

Because I haven't posted anything for so long, here are our photos taken during our breakfast at Diamond Hotel. We had a staycation last Sunday, but most of the photos were taken on my camera and not on my phone. I haven't uploaded the photos yet.

I promise to write about the staycation soon!

Balance

I have whined here about our lack of househelps and how it has caused me so much trouble and misery. And you know how the universe replied? I was blessed to have won not one but two online contests over Mother's Day weekend! How is that for balance? Pretty cool, right? I won a Php5000 voucher from Cuzo bags and a Php1500 voucher from SM Kids apparel. The best part? The contests weren't raffles where I just got lucky. I won because the photos I submitted were deemed to be the cutest among the entries, and these were photos of my two girls! Nothing beats validation from strangers that your kids are the cutest, I tell you.

So, here are my winning photos:

So thank you universe for reminding me that despite practically driving me crazy, my kids still are my source of happiness and good vibes.

The Mom in Me

Since today is Mother's Day, I want to share with you glimpses of what my life as a mom looks like. Of course I edited out those that depict real life, a.k.a those where I looked distressed, bewildered and ready to give my kids away. I know those are the ones that earn me respect (and possibly awe) but like I'd post them for all the world to see. Hello! I am not that crazy! No, these are the Norman Rockwell-ish type of photos that would trick you into thinking that everything is so smooth sailing and picturesque. Seriously, I don't think I know of any mom who finds the job easy and stress-free. Heck, if it were, then it wouldn't be so special anymore. Moms are so special and so revered because despite the moments of uncertainty, of desperation and of endless worries and fears, we moms still feel and believe that motherhood is the best job in the world. And that's the truth!

3 Seconds

Three seconds was all it took to go from squeaky clean-faced cherub to dungis little girl.

Adorable!

Eastwood at Night

What do you do when it's 9pm and you are itching to go out of the house? Go to Eastwood City! There are loads to do there! Sure, Eastwood Mall closes at 10pm, but Citywalk is open until 11pm and more than a handful of restaurants are open 24hrs.

We arrived at 930pm and had yummy ice cream at Swensen's, took a leisurely walk towards Citywalk, looked at the fish pond in front of Big Oli's, had goto at Goodah, had iced coffee and fries at McDonald's, watched the dancing fountain, bought goodies at Breadtalk and had mocha soy milk at Mr Bean. All this done in under 2 hours. Whew!

Now my problem is it's almost 2am and the kids are still as hyper as ever. Ayayay! Maybe a late night pasyal wasn't the best idea after all.

Sofia

This is the result when a rare artistic inspiration occurred during the girls' nap time. Cute no? I will be using it to decorate my DIYs for Sofia's birthday party in (yikes!) two weeks. The OC in me is a wee bit bothered that it isn't as polished as I would have liked, but it makes the whole "handmade with love" much more special. At least I think so. I just hope our guests appreciate it as well and not think I am a trying-hard artist wannabe.

Family Vacation: Hong Kong (Disney Hollywood Hotel)

We rode a cab from Hong Kong airport to Disney's Hollywood Hotel, where we stayed for just one night. This was a bit of a splurge since we could have gotten a nicer hotel in the city for the price we paid here. However, the hotel was a really fun place if you have kids or if you are a kid at heart. There were hidden Mickeys everywhere and the decor was all Mickey inspired. Plus it was close to the theme park and there were shuttle buses going back and forth, so it was easy to go back to the hotel when the kids were tired or were wanting to nap or rest. We also got the two-day tickets so we didn't have to rush around the park and could explore it at a leisurely pace.

For those of you planning to visit Hong Kong Disneyland, do consider staying at the hotel and getting two-day tickets. Room rates start at HKD1650 (Php8700) per night for a garden view room at Hollywood Hotel, breakfast not included. I suggest getting park view rooms, which was a bit more expensive than the garden view room but cheaper than the sea view room. You can actually watch the fireworks from the comforts of your room! Of course, it won't be as amazing as when you watch from inside the theme park, but it was still awesome. And it worked really well for us since Ally gets spooked by fireworks. Sayang naman if we miss it, diba? Not only did we get to watch the fireworks from our room, we didn't have to worry about the kids being exposed to the elements in the chilly January night. Less worries for me!

Park view room at the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel

Cribs are free of charge, subject to availability though

The room was very child-friendly - no scary corners to be worried about!

Infant/toddler-appropriate Disney Jr was available on TV

Our view of the fireworks 

The beds were perfect, not too soft and not too firm.
Sofia gave it a thumbs up after a good night's sleep! 

What I love with this hotel was that the hotel itself can entertain you with its amenities. It has a huge outdoor pool (which unfortunately was closed for maintenance), expansive sprawling gardens decorated with classic cars (perfect for photo ops), a kid-friendly game room, outdoor playground, a gift shop, and hotel restaurants where you can actually dine with Disney characters. If these aren't enough, you can hop on the shuttle to go to the other Disney hotel, the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, which is a more posh, slightly more expensive hotel (compared to the Hollywood Hotel). Now this hotel has a spa, an indoor pool (which will undergo maintenance from end March to April 2013), live music entertainment, outdoor basketball court and tennis court, storybook playroom and a Mickey Mouse maze.

We weren't able to go to the Disneyland Hotel since we opted to spend our whole day at the theme park instead. Of course, we made time for a mini-pictorial session at the Hollywood Hotel's lobby and gardens with their classic cars.

Even the bench had touches of Mickey!

The two-day tickets on the other hand, allow you to visit the park on any two days within a 7 day period (so it is not necessary to visit the park on consecutive days). And if you are thinking that it is twice the price of the the single-day ticket, you are wrong! One-day ticket costs HKD399 (Php2100) for adults but two-day tickets costs HKD499 (Php2620). See? Not bad for an extra day in Disneyland, right?

Check out their website because they currently have a hotel room + 2-day ticket promo. Rates start at HKD2532 (Php13200) for 2 adults. They also have early booking discounts. I booked our room more than 45 days in advance so I got a 20% discount. Good deal, no? Oh, and like most hotels, the room rates are slightly more expensive Fridays and Saturdays. So if your travel dates are flexible, better to stay during weekdays for additional savings.

More of our Hong Kong trip on the next post!