Play and Learn at Gymboree

Last year, when I was still pregnant with Datu, we got a Gymboree voucher specially for Dragon babies. I got it from one of the Mommy Mundo events. The voucher gets us a Free trial class, 50% off the Membership fee and 50% off on the child's first enrollment. The caveat is that it must be used before the child turns 10 months.

Datu is turning 10 months in about two weeks so we decided to use the coupon to avail of the discounts if we decide to enroll him. Serendra and Greenbelt 5 were the nearest branches from where we lived (nearest was Rockwell but that branch isn't open yet). I called both up to check for class schedules as those were not posted in their websites. The Greenbelt schedule worked best for us. I reserved a slot for Datu for their level 2 class on a Saturday.

Gymboree's Play and Learn are their most popular classes. There were several levels depending on your child's age. Datu is at Level 2 (6-10 months). It goes up to Level 6 for toddlers 28-36 months. The activities are play-based that stimulate your child's motor and sensory skills. The activities are all done while singing. The classes last for an hour.

Class schedule for Gymboree at Greenbelt 5

For Level 2, there was a segment for parent sharing. We were asked about feeding our children solid foods. It was more of a question and answer thing. It would have been nice if we were actually asked about best practices but I guess that may take too long of a discussion and will take away time for the actual baby activities.

I think Datu enjoyed the activity with bubbles best. The teachers would blow bubbles in the air while singing, the babies were so cute looking and touching the bubbles. The bubbles are safe as they were not made of soap. I remember the teacher saying it had glucose and something else (which sounded safe...sorry, I'm kind of forgetful with these things! Important to note is that these are safe :) ) He also liked the soccer activity and mostly anything that involved lifting him. The activities also allowed him to interact with other babies his age in that kind of environment. Honestly, I enjoyed the activities too. I think I enjoyed it more that Datu did. (lol)

We did not enroll him just yet as we feel that he can't fully appreciate the classes at this age still. Also,since we live in an apartment complex, Datu is able to interact with other babies too. In our complex, Datu has two kabarkadas who are the same age as he is. Then, there are toddlers below three years old. However, if your baby does not have a regular playmate he/she can interact with, I say go for it and enroll your baby to start developing social skills.

Below are their current rates in case you decide to enroll your own kids. Both parents can join the classes with the baby. Especially if you are not in your best physical state, activities can be tiring   and it provides equal opportunity for both parents to get involved while the other takes pictures and videos :)



Hubs and I decided to enroll Datu for Level 3 onwards when he is older. We feel after a few months, he will be able to participate better in the activities.

Maligayang Araw ng mga Tatay!

Tatay,

I thank God everyday for giving you to me. I am blessed to have you as a partner in raising Datu. There are just so many things that you do, big and small that makes you a great Father. We've only started in this journey but you have already done so many things that most men balk at. You've changed nappies without complaints.You have been my number one breastfeeding supporter, we wouldn't have made it this long without your encouragement and support. You take care of Datu in the wee hours of the morning to allow me to sleep. There are so many things that you do and I know that there is just nothing that you won't do for us.

I pray that our son grows up to be the man that you are. You are our hero. We love you always! 

Celebrating my first mother's day, a super late post

My first Mother's day weekend was hectic. We had a team get together on Saturday, a lunch with the in laws on Sunday and we had to drive to Pampanga after the lunch. Monday was election day and I am still registered in my hometown so we have to go to Pampanga to vote.

This special weekend started Friday night when the hubs surprised me with these.

Beautiful bouquet

Mango Sansrival ice cream cake from Caramia

Datu's birth stone

 Datu and I, as well as the yaya, were already in our room upstairs. The main door was already locked and we were already preparing Datu to sleep. Suddenly, our doorknob started turning. Yaya and I looked at each other. My protective mommy mode started to kick in and I was already looking for a way to defend ourselves. Fat and I both thought we got a burglar in the house. Then the door opened, and Tatay was there. We both sighed with relief and started laughing. Hubs was confused and we told him that we thought he was some burglar because he was supposed to still be in the office.

I was really happy with the gifts. I have the bestest husband who I think made it his life goal to surprise me on special occasions. See, I almost always figure out his surprise or where his gifts are hidden so he is extra happy when he catches me off guard. I love him for really trying his best :) Did I say I have the bestest husband ever? I am a very very lucky girl.

Weekend Special: 8065 Bagnet

I bought two vouchers from Metrodeal a couple of months back for 8065 Bagnet.The purchase was Php 150 but worth Php 300. I was reserving this for when I am too lazy to cook on a weekend. It was easy to drive to this place as it was near our home and it was always nice to drive to Makati on a Sunday--absolutely no traffic.

8065 Bagnet at night

From the name, 8065 Bagnet serves the famous Ilocos double fried meat in different ways. My favorite is their Bagnet Sisig and Dinuguan. New to their menu is Bagnet sinigang but I have not tried that yet. They also have the plain variety, bicol express, kare-kare among others. We would normally get the budget meals that come with rice. But you can also order viands for sharing (good for 2-3 persons).

Kermit the frog at the dining area outside

I originally found out about this hole in the wall from my officemates. We would go there on our lunch break as it was a very short cab ride from where I worked.

When we found that a group buying site had this promo, one of my officemates bought 10 vouchers! That's how much we like the place. We would normally order the rice meals which are about Php 120 each. It was so sulit for the money. The guys can even have two orders of rice and still not feel bitin with the serving. So if you are on a budget, you can actually order one rice meal and an extra rice. Then, two people can split a Php 150 (extra rice is Php 30) bill. You even get free soup! If you plan to go there on a weekday to have lunch, it is best to call in advance to place your orders so you don't have to wait too long and risk going over your break time. 

Bagnet Dinuguan budget meal (Php120)

 

Bagnet Sisig budget meal (Php 120)

8065 Bagnet
8065 Estrella St  
San Antonio, Makati  
(02) 519-6511

Ordering birth certificates online

Recently, we applied for my son's passport. One of the requirements was an NSO copy of his birth certificate. We did not want to wait in line, like we did when we got our CENOMAR back in 2009 so I decided to order his birth certificate online like I did with our marriage certificate a couple years back.

It is a very easy process. You need to log in at the NSO website and a link will lead you to the steps you have to follow to request for your birth certificate, marriage certificate, CENOMAR, a death certificate. All of these documents cost Php 315 except the CENOMAR that costs Php 415. After completing the form, you can pay over the counter at BDO or Union bank. To save more time, you can also pay through BDO online banking or via credit card. We opted to pay over the counter at BDO. Delivery is then expected within 3-9 working days.

With my past experience, I got our marriage certificate within three days. I was really happy and I expected the same processing time with this request. However, a whole week had passed without receipt of the birth certificate. I went back online to see how I can reach out to customer service and found that you can actually track your orders yourself through the batch request number or request reference number. You can check if the order has been paid and if it has been dispatched. A week after payment, the website still indicated that payment has not been received so I got worried. We had ordered two copies of my son's birth certificate and one copy of my hubby's that cost us Php 945. I sent an email to NSO and got a response about two days after. Apparently, they had a problem with BDO payments and so the delay. The same day, I got a dispatch notice from NSO saying that my request has been sent out. Got the documents the next day.

I still got the birth certificates within the expected time frame but I should have gotten it sooner had there been no issues with the bank. We didn't have any immediate need for these but the follow up I needed to do was a bit of a hassle. I would still go through the same process next time. No waiting in lines, no need to commute. Note though that if you need your documents the same day, you can trek to the NSO branch at Macapagal but be prepared to wait at least half a day.

Weekend Special: Lunch at Burgoo

I was looking at promotions offered for my Citibank card, I saw that Burgoo had a 50% promo discount. My hubby and I will do a quick grocery shopping to buy food for the little one at Powerplant so I thought of having lunch at Burgoo since it has been a while since we have eaten there. Plus the fact that we'd only pay half the price is way too enticing.

Apparently, Burgoo Powerplant was not a participating branch for the promo. We were there already and we didn't really have another place in mind to eat so we decided to stay.

  

For starters we had the sampler which was a plate of mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, cheesy fries and onion rings. It was a hefty size for a regular serving (Servings come at regular and large sizes). However, the buffalo wings were dry. The sauce looks like it was just brushed on top of the wings. It didn't even cover all of it. The two pieces of celery sticks that came with the platter were thin and stringy. The cheesy fries was not cheesy at all. I'd say it only had about a teaspoon of cheese sauce and about half a teaspoon of crumbled bacon. Now the breaded mozzarella cheese was ok but I've had better. The breading was on the bland side for me and the marinara sauce that went with it didn't really help. Now the onion rings. We love onion rings and we almost always order it if it's on the menu. Well this one, it was crunchy but overcooked almost burnt even. The onion inside was on the thin side so you can hardly taste it.

Supreme Sampler Php 425

For our main course, I got an Oklahoma baby back ribs while the hubby got grilled  pork chops. Then I got the Cheesy beef baked macaroni.

Let's start with the ribs. I was not familiar with this kind of sauce so I was a bit surprised that it was tangy almost sour. I don't like tangy rib sauce. I hate wasting food so I remedied that with hot sauce. The size of the slab was just right. But you can see right away that it is a bit thin. And when you slice through each rib, there was not much meat as say compared to Racks or Chili's. And though they had fries, none of the other potato-based side dishes were available.



Oklahoma Baby Back Ribs Php 595



I forgot to take a picture of what hubby got. He had the large grilled pork chops (Php475). The size was just right. There were two pieces for the large serving vs just one for the regular. It came with two sides and he chose corn and coleslaw. It also had gravy. It was pretty ok except that there were portions near the bone that was raw. The coleslaw was watery and tasted like it was frozen and just defrosted.



The baked macaroni had a lot of mozzarella on top. The penne was al dente but I think I make a better baked mac. The husband says the garlic bread that came with it tasted like paper so I didn't bother.





Cheesy Beef Baked Macaroni Php 295

There really was no redeeming factor with our Burgoo lunch except the service. The waitresses were attentive with refilling hubby's drinks.

I guess this was the reason we never really eat at Burgoo anymore. With the price we paid, we should have gone elsewhere.