It's Not COOL To Be Mean To Kids

I was scrolling through my Facebook page and I notice this article from New York Daily News about this woman who steals a foul ball from a child at a baseball game. Poor kid.

The 2011 video of Juan Miranda's foul ball was seen by people all across America at an MLB game between Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Minute Maid, and has already gone viral. Too bad, it's already too late. I mean, it's 2013 already!

In the video, you could hear the announcers noticed the Kris Jenner lookalike snatched the ball from the little girl.

"She took it right from her! That was BEYOND wrong!" One announcer says.

At first, I thought she was there to help out the kid to catch the ball. The woman was not able to catch the ball and she noticed that the child caught it. She quickly snatched it right from the kid's hands and waves it to her friends, with some high fives to boot.

Poor little girl just walked back to her seat devastated.

Bitch, you think you're so cool now, huh?

You can see the video of it in YouTube entitled, "Evil woman steals ball from little girl".

I know. She's soooo mean! If that were my kid, I swear, I'm gonna go all crazy on her. Ugh. I still feel bad at the sight of the sad kid. I could just imagine her sadness, that she might not want to go to any baseball games anymore. :(

So yea, being mean to kids: NOT COOL. Picture yourself in the kid's shoes. Would you want them to be mean to you?

What about you parents out there? Are you as furious as I was when you saw the clip? Sound off below.

My Lucky September

To some, September is like "hell month". But I beg to differ. September 2013 has been very kind to me. I just couldn't contain myself, that I just had to share the experience with you all. :)

This month was just... awesome. I couldn't describe it any other way.

I won! 

First of all, I won Bebengisms.com's Birthday Cyber Party. I got tons of giveaways that my four-year-old was sooooo giddy to see our table full of cool stuff.

Told you she was so giddy!

Renee's achievement.

Since I have been homeschooling my four-year-old, Renee, I have been given the task to teach my child her ABCs, math, writing, reading, and even science. I have started teaching her stuff back in January and am proud to say that she has progressed pretty well for a homeschooled child.

She has finally learned as much as basic two-digit addition and subtraction, how to read, how to write, the colors of the rainbow, shapes and polygons, traffic colors (traffic signals and "walk"/"don't walk" signs), and things about the human body. Oh and the piano as well, since her father's a musician, I thought it'd be fitting to start her up with piano. Not bad eh?

CVC words, phonemes and simple addition/subtraction.

Teeny hands playing "Mary Had A Little Lamb".
(I labeled the keyboard so she could remember the keys.
It works!)

The long wait is over.

As I have told you before, my husband and I have decided to move to Canada for good. A couple of weeks back, we finally received our family's Canadian visa. We will be moving to the great White North by spring next year, thanks to my uncle (mom's bro) who was gracious enough to sponsor my family so we can move there.

Destination: The Great White North

We have been waiting for this moment since that day we sent our papers back October last year. And now, it's finally here! It's bittersweet, though. I mean, we will be leaving our lives here to start a new one in a strange country. We'll be leaving our families behind--our siblings and parents, friends and relatives. All that to start anew across the globe. But then again, our plan is to eventually bring the whole family there anyway. At least, this is the start, yes?

Our future there still seems bleak. No idea of what's gonna happen. I mean, we sure have a Plan A and a Plan B. But we all know things don't always turn out as planned. Chances are, we might come up with new plans when we get there. Ah well, as they say, we'll cross that bridge when we finally get there.

For now, I guess, we'll just keep on hoping for the best. Until that day we fly to the land of bacon and maple syrup--no not milk and honey!

29 Things You Need to Know About Me

For Bebengisms Birthday Cyber Party

A domestic queen I know, has just turned 29 a few days back and her little princess is turning 5 soon (they celebrate the same birth month!). She is the woman behind the super-kikay and very fun to read (and informative) mommy blog, Bebengisms.com. Believe me, she almost hasn't changed a bit since the last time I saw her back in high school! I remember I got a grad photo from her back then with a dedication. I was suppose to post it, when I realize that most of my high school memories were taken that fateful day that Ondoy flooded almost the whole metro. :(

I have been an avid reader of her blog. It's just so exciting to read and very relatable, especially to stay-at-home-mothers just like me. You see, she's almost my age. We went to the same high school (she's a year ahead of me) and with her blog, I realized that we share many common mommy moments. Our kids--her little Pia and my first-born, Renee are almost the same age. Both talk as if they're grown-ups trapped inside some pre-schooler's body. We both had to hold up the fort while the men of our households are away (though, hands-down, she's way better in this part. Her hubby's a military man and is working outside of the metro, and she's THE man--er woman of the house while he's out). Oh and did I mention that she's a fellow Somerholic??? Hihihi.

Anyhoos, since she's celebrating her 29th, I wanna share with you 29 things about me... and 5 things about each of my darling princesses.

Let's start with me first.

Two-kid carry. One of my daily "amazona" tasks. Haha!

1. I was a premature baby, born 8 months.

2. I was told I only lasted about an hour in the incubator because the nurses feared that I might kick the wirings inside the incubator.

3. I'm a quarter Spanish (maternal grandmother), a quarter Chinese (maternal grandfather), and half (and proud!) Filipino.

4. I came from a military family--both grandfathers served in the USAFFE back in WW2 and my mother is a reservist, which why...

5. I was inspired to join the Cadet Officer Candidacy Course (COCC) back in high school, and was eventually a CAT officer in my senior year. I was then a company commander.

6. I have always, ALWAYS been an animal lover.

7. I once owned 2 lovebirds, 3 dogs, 2 cats, a "dagang costa" and a tank of fishes. Believe it or not, they were all my pets AT THE SAME TIME.

8. I was a tomboy when I was a kid, because...

9. I grew up with a bunch of guy friends--most of them are cousins. That said,

10. People once thought I was gay and were all shocked when they started seeing me with a boyfriend.

11. I used to smoke and drink until I completely stopped back in 2006. Never took a puff nor sip ever since.

12. I taught myself to play the guitar and piano.

13. I'm an insomniac.

14. I'm a coffee lover.

15. Since I was a kid, I always name my pets with people's names because I just want to see their reaction when they realize that I'm talking about our pets. It's only now that I started naming them with cartoon characters' names because my kid told me so. Haha!

16. I used to be in a band... BUT 

17. Before I got in a band, I was once a choir girl.

18. I once aspired to become an actress (don't we all do???).

19. I love, LOVE drawing.

20. I met my husband through a then-officemate. That guy is now my brother-in-law, who is also my husband's bandmate since the beginning of time.

21. I'm a big fan of TV series and rock music.

22. I have a crazy photographic memory.

23. Though I seem to be a toughie, I am such a cryer too.

24. I look like my brother's fiancee. People tend to think she's my sibling, not my lil bro. Hahaha!

25. I usually cut my own hair, and my kids' and hubby's. (Last time I was in a salon was back in January, after four long years of just cutting it myself. And now, I am back to trimming it by myself again! Real-life version of Zohan. Haha!) 

26. I haven't had a salon mani-pedi in years, in the fear of having a murdered cuticle again (I always come home with an injured toe, no matter who/where I get a mani-pedi from).

27. If you haven't seen my blog yet, or haven't seen my Facebook photos, you should know that I looooove cooking!

28. Due to some medical issues I had years ago, I didn't really expect I'll have kids. Am I lucky or what? :)

29. The best--and craziest job I have ever had is being a MOMMY. :)

Now, to my kiddies:

Me and my mini-me, Renee.

Renee:

1. Ren was born via c-section back in March 2009. The first grandchild on both sides--mine and my husband's. She's named Renee Angeli. Renee meaning reborn (French) and Angeli, (variation of "Angel", heaven's messenger). She was given the second name as a tribute to a sibling we lost, when my mother suffered a miscarriage back when I was in high school.

2. Renee would rather eat monggo, fish and seafoods, than have hotdogs and spaghetti.

3. She skipped Nursery when she applied for school this year, and was accepted Kinder 2 at a Catholic School in Marikina. Unfortunately, due to our plans of migrating, she had to skip this year. Kids in Canada go to school at age 5.

4. Unlike most kids, Renee is fascinated by movies like Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and The Phantom of the Opera.

5. When we go out, people often speak to her in English, thinking she's Korean or Chinese.

Me and my little Allie-pot.

Allie:

1. Allie was a breech baby (suhi), and was delivered via c-section last year, May 2012. She was given the name Rachel (meaning lamb) and second name Allison (meaning noble one).

2. Allie started walking at exactly one year old. She took her first steps just last May, her birth month.

3. Her first word was "de-de" (milk)... not "Ma-ma" nor "Da-da".

4. She's been exclusively breastfed since birth.

5. She loves to play with our four cats. Takes after Mommy. :)

Soooo that's it. I know. It's suuuuuuuper long eh? I think this is like the first time I have ever opened up about myself in cyberspace. Well, yea, aside from my blog, this is THE first time ever that I have told the world things about me that only few people know. It actually felt pretty good, and I owe it all to you, Ate Denise!

Belated happy birthday, Ate Denise. Again. Hehe! And advance happy birthday to your little Bebeng, pretty little Sophia.

Cheers to more good reads at Bebengisms! :)

Half-birthdays and Easy-peasy Red Velvet Cupcakes

Hellooooo domestic rockstars! :)

Today is my 4-year-old's half-birthday. Yes, you read it right. My little panganay (first-born) turned half a year today. Look, I know it's not really a holiday or whatevs. But in this household, this mommy celebrates her children's half-year birthdays.

Happy half-birthday to youuuuuuu... :)

So today I made Renee one of the most typical (and popular) birthday food--pancit. The other most popular and most typical is spaghetti. People here believe that serving noodle/pasta dishes would give the celebrant a long life. I'm not really superstitious, but I made it because my kids love pancit. I added some of those rabbit-shaped fish cakes. I was inspired after seeing it on a sotanghon soup from Bebengisms. My daughter loves those and I thought I'd incorporate it. Suffice to say, my picky-eater ate a plateful of pancit. For dessert, she ate one regular-size and a couple mini red velvets! Oh and she blew her candle on one of those cupcakes, which I topped with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles.

Now, if you think I am sharing some recipe with you today, well, YOU. ARE. RIGHT.

I have been asked by a lot of people I know--moms mostly, about my red velvet cupcake recipe. So for everyone's benefit, I am sharing it now to you all. :)


You will need the following to make the batter:

1 1/4 cups flour; sifted
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups vegetable oil
1 egg; room temperature
1 tbsp red food color (about half a bottle of McCormick's food color)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar

***If you have no buttermilk, mix half a tablespoon of white vinegar (or lemon juice) and 1/2 cup of fresh milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes before you pour on the red velvet mixture.


Procedure:

1. Pre-heat oven in 350 degrees.
2. Line cupcake molds/tins with cupcake liners.
3. Mix all ingredients together, dry ones first. Stir until there are no more lumps.
4. Pour batter onto the mold/tin, filling only 3/4 of it.
5. Pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes OR cook in steamer for 15 minutes.
6. Set aside and let the cupcakes cool.
7. Once cool, pipe frosting (or dollop using spoon) onto the cupcakes, or dust with confectioner's sugar.

Freshly-made red velvets. Cool them off for a
few minutes, so the frosting won't melt.

Now, since I used cream cheese frosting for my baby's cupcakes, I'll share with you the frosting recipe as well. :)

Cream cheese frosting will need:

1/3 cup butter (1/3 of a brick of butter); softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cream cheese

Mix all ingredients together until there are no more lumps. Spread them over the cupcakes. You can even add some sprinkles, mallows, sliced fruits, nuts or chocolate chips, if you want!

Ta-daaaaaa!!!
My red velvets with candy sprinkles (top left),
chocolate sprinkles (top right), and chocolate chips (bottom).

Renee was so excited upon learning this afternoon that I'll be making her fave red velvets. She offered to help me make them! So yea, that's a mommy-and-me tag-team effort you are seeing there, while little Allie was playing "tu-to" (Tagalog: luto; English: cook) with all the kitchen toys her big sister gave her. :)

I hope you ladies (and prolly some gents, too!) would enjoy making these.

Happy cooking (and eating)!



XO,
Aryanne