CPK in Eastwood

Last week, we went to Eastwood and discovered that CPK is now open, yey!  As mentioned in one of my posts here, I love how the GRCI group takes their little customers into consideration.  I was pretty ecstatic when I saw their new activity sheet was a make your own pizza sticker sheet.  You see, R is so into stickers now a days so imagine how busy he was throughout.  

I'm happy that there is a new dining place in Eastwood that all of us can enjoy!

 

CPK is located at the G/F of the Eastwood Mall, just beside Mr. Kurosawa.

A weekend in Tagaytay

Last August 9, we trooped to Tagaytay with my ex-officemates and their families and stayed at  the Taal Vista Hotel.  We bought our hotel vouchers from Deal Grocer, which had a pretty good deal at P3,999 overnight package for two with buffet breakfast!

Going to Tagaytay is usually an easy drive.  It would  take us an hour to an hour and a half to get there.  But that weekend was crazy.   We were not aware that there was an INC (Iglesia ni Cristo) gathering in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.  We were stuck in Greenfield alone for two hours, can you imagine!  Loads of buses and jeepneys were parked everywhere, plus people walking along the road made it harder for vehicles to pass through.  We were able to breathe when we hit Nuvali and there was no more traffic.  We finally arrived at our destination at 4:30pm, after three and a half hours of travel time.

It was my first time to stay in Taal Vista hotel.  I have always loved hanging out there because it is the only hotel in Tagaytay that has sprawling grounds that kids will enjoy.  Not to forget that it also a great view of the Taal Lake.

We stayed at their Deluxe Room in the new wing.   You would have to walk quite a distance going to their rooms which can be a challenge for some, especially senior citizens.   But don't fret!  They have golf carts available that can take you to the lobby or to the other side of the hotel.

The size of the room was just right.   I found it ok.  We had a King sized bed and a daybed and the room had the basic necessities.   I would have loved it if the room was carpeted, that there was a door in the bathroom and that there was a detachable shower head.

The shower and toilet areas have frosted glass doors, but it still felt weird not having a door in the bathroom, especially if you have other people with you other than family.  The shower area is quite spacious.  It is a good thing that they have a rubber mat because the tiles get too slippery when wet.  But if you have a little boy who loves water so much and would jump in excitement while showering, better bring an extra rubber mat.  Child-friendly and Child safety. Yes, these are the things that I notice or look for especially when I became a mother.

The hotel also has a small play room.   It was small and there wasn't really much to do.  They just placed some books,  a plastic playground system and a TV.  There were a few dead insects lying around in the corners of the room.  Still,  I am thankful that they even thought of putting a playroom.  But I hope they can somehow re-do it.  Make it more kid friendly and cleaner.

Moving on to breakfast, they have a pretty sumptuous buffet spread.  There was a lot of people checked in but we were able to secure a place even if we were quite a big group.  They had Filipino and American breakfast dishes like Adobo, garlic rice, lugaw, danggit, taho,pancakes, bacon, cereals, etc. They also have an Omelette station, which is always a plus.    After breakfast, the kids just enjoyed running up and down the garden.  We were not able to swim because of the inclement weather.

In general, the hotel staff was friendly.  Any chance they pass by you, they will greet you and would offer to help you in case you are carrying something.  We just weren't happy about how the F&B manager handled my friend's request about the waiving of corkage, but that's another story.

Overall, we still had an enjoyable stay.  There are some details that they are missing out on and hope they will address it. The kids enjoyed running around the garden and just having a relaxing weekend.  We will definitely go back because we love how big the place is, lots of room for running for R.

My friend's daughter was celebrating her birthday that day.  Cupcakes were made by moi.

Personalized greeting.

Deluxe Room bathroom.  No door.

Deluxe Room bathroom.

Deluxe Room.

King sized bed + a daybed.

Vanity and media area.

Playroom.

A few books in the playroom.

R running.  What's new.

R loved going up and down the garden.

  

Waiting for Daylight: Goodbye to our little angel

Right now, I cannot seem to write a post about how I feel about my 33 week old son's sudden death. But before I found out that he was gone, I kept on listening and watching Maroon 5's Daylight. It was probably my son saying goodbye to me. The lyrics for now will summarize how I feel especially during the time I was waiting to give birth to him and it was just me and him in the labor room, waiting for Daylight to come.

I love you my Vito. I will miss your somersaults inside my tummy and how you would always be so active whenever your Ahia would lay beside me.


Daylight by Maroon Five

Here I am waiting, I'll have to leave soon
Why am I holding on?
We knew this day would come, we knew it all along
How did it come so fast?
This is our last night but it's late
And I'm trying not to sleep
Cause I know, when I wake, I will have to slip away

And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
Oh-woah, oh-woah, oh-woah
Oh-woah, oh-woah, oh-woah

Here I am staring at your perfection
In my arms, so beautiful
The sky is getting bright, the stars are burning out
Somebody slow it down
This is way too hard, cause I know
When the sun comes up, I will leave
This is my last glance that will soon be memory

And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
Oh-woah, oh-woah, oh-woah
Oh-woah, oh-woah, oh-woah

I never wanted to stop because I don't wanna start all over, start all over,
I was afraid of the dark but now it's all that I want, all that I want, all that I want

And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
Oh-woah, oh-woah, oh-woah
Oh-woah, oh-woah, oh-woah
Oh-woah (yeah), oh-woah (yeah), oh-woah (yeah)
Oh-woah (yeah), oh-woah (yeah), oh-woah!

DIY: wall stencil

I have finally finished stenciling our wall!  It was easier to paint than do the stencil (I made my own stencil, thanks to the internet).  In terms of making my own stencil, there were several hits and misses, leaving my fingers sore from all that cutting.  Then I finally found the materials that worked best in making a DIY stencil : a box knife (the Xacto knife failed in doing its jjob) and an acetate which are all available in National Bookstore.  Using the box knife was a breeze and I wanted to kill myself for not realizing that sooner.

The other materials which included the paint, roller brush, paint pan and painter's tape, I bought from ACE Hardware.  I was so excited with my project and was amazed at how many colors of yellow were available and had to do two trips to ACE just to decide on what color I'd want.  I also never realized how expensive painter's tape was (P350).  It was almost as expensive as the paint (P420)!  I had no choice but to buy it. I had no time to canvass since I was too excited to start my project.

It just took me less than two hours to paint our room, can you believe it?  At the last minute, I decided to do a tone on tone and left the terracotta accent wall blank (for now), which was supposed to be the wall I was going to stencil.  

Total amount spent was around P900. Majority of which went to the paint and painter's tape.  But you would definitely spend less or nothing at all if you already have these on stock  at at home.

I'm so proud and happy with my little project.  The damask stencils added life to our once boring walls.

    The boring walls.

      I scoured the net for damask patterns and just scaled the pattern to my desired size.

    Tape, paint and you are done!

Picky eating v.2

Picky eating strikes again!  I thought we were done with it, but no.  It's back with a vengeance.  I am trying not to stress so much about it, but sometimes it gets the better of me.  I have been reading parenting blogs and forums on picky eaters and have also talked to friends about it.  Surprisingly, more than fifty percent of parents that I know have or had picky eaters.

I do wish that this will end soon, similar to R's picky eating last January that lasted for three weeks.  But while he is still on it, I am educating myself on how to better handle this phase in his toddler life.  Below is the book that I am reading on picky eating by Elizabeth Pantley.  I love her method and have used her book  The No cry sleep solution, which helped me sleep train R when he was a baby.  I just bought this book from Kindle yesterday and let's see if it's good.

What about you?  Have you had or do you have a picky eater, too?  Do you mind sharing any tips?