AskMeMom: Kyle's First Birthday Celebration in School

A lot of YOU asked me on both emails, DMs and even texts --- How Do You Manage Your Time?

Well, I don't know about you but it takes years of practice!  I started time management as early as gradeschool years!  With all the assignments I get (4 exams plus Chinese memorization for both Language and History), I learned to really count every minute and follow my own timetable!

All of you AMW friends knew how busy my life is especially if you follow me on Social Media, but for the latter part of March and the whole month of April, my schedule is even worst!  With my dad's  recent stairs accident and stroke, I had to add in daily visits to the hospital (now: HOME).

What made my life even more challenging is the fact that I have to continue to be there for my son who needs and seeks my attention much more than ever!  

And since April 16 was his 5th birthday and a FIRST for him to celebrate in school (his previous school was on summer vacation during his birth month.), I knew I had to at least give him a decent celebration because even with troubles coming my way, life does not stop there!

A huge shoutout to my loving hubby for taking workday-off to help me out on this!  THANKS MR. AMW!

The food part was easy, we ordered fastfood on that day and even purchased his requested "Red Ribbon" cake.  Thankfully, they offer a Jollibee cake  which matches the food theme.

Now let's talk about the loot bag!  I obviously do not have time to go to "Divisoria" like other moms so I obviously went for the easier route -- ONLINE SHOPPING.

One of the Online Shopping App I always go for is Shopee - I learned about the effectiveness of Shopee through my sister-in-law because she also has a shop there!

Weekend Food Trip at: Tien Ma's

The first time I visited Tien Ma's at Banawe branch was last year when Keith was hospitalized!  I went for takeout and got everything that was recommended by the waitress and everything tastes wonderful! 

After that first time order, we've decided to go back to the said restaurant a couple of times and tried their other dishes!  I'm glad their food choices expanded and they even offer Truffled Xiao Long Bao!

Black Mushroom with Truffle Oil Xiao Long Bao

Php240.00

Not bad price for 8pcs of Xiao Long Bao.  You really get a hint of Truffle upon each bite!  The skin of the Xiao Long Bao is soft and smooth and you get a good amount of "soup" inside.

Deep Fried Stinky Tofu

Php199.00

I've had Stinky Tofu in Shanghai once and I realized it wasn't the authentic one so I wanted to give Stinky Tofu another try here in Manila and the experience was unforgettable!

Taking a bite at Tien Ma's Stinky Tofu takes a lot of strength because you can literally smell it from afar and taking a bite won't change the fact that it is indeed extremely STINKY!  I call this dish "acquired taste".  You either love it so much or hate it a lot!  

You wanted to know how I feel about this dish?  We had a good laugh because a lot of expletives were blurted out while chewing this Stinky Tofu dish!

If you're adventurous, I dare you to give this a try and let me know how you like/hate it.

AskMeMom: My Red Ribbon Tale

Truth be told, Red Ribbon has always been my choice of cake when I was young, I remember my siblings and I would pitch in our allowance to celebrate my mom's birthday, dad's birthday or their anniversary with a tub of ice cream and a cake from Red Ribbon.  Because for us, a "party" doesn't have to be big, it definitely doesn't require expensive food and drinks, for us, the real celebration includes the presence of the people you love and the idea of eating good food together.

Now that I'm a mom, I think I carried that trait of creating "mini" celebration every now and then!  So with Kyle around, I have more reasons to celebrate and that includes his monthly birthday!  Mr. AMW and I made it a point to set our busy schedule aside and just have a small celebration with a cake and candle and a whole lot of singing (Happy Birthday Song in different languages! lol)

Then looking back at the photos taken, 6 out of 7 cakes were from Red Ribbon!  (Kyle is 7 months old)

Happy Kyle Excited with his 5th Month Birthday Cake