Frannywanny

"Fed is Best" This is one thing that I constantly remind myself ever since the twins were born. Let's admit it, from the moment you deliver your baby, the hospital will constant encourage you to breastfeed. Okay, so breastfeeding sure has a lot of benefits both to the mother and to the baby. I personally felt so glad that I was able to express my colostrum as soon as my twins were born. Somehow, it gave me this sense of validation that I am doing a good job as their Mommy. Fast forward to today, my twins have been latching on to me and I've been pumping for 7 whole months. I never thought I'd come this far. Breastfeeding sure has its benefits and it has its downside too. One is my mobility as a mom. My twins are so used to having me around that L, for instance, would scream her head off at night if she doesn't sleep latched on to me. That said, I haven't had a decent night out since they were born. One time, Paul and I went out to attend a friend...

My birthday is coming in a few more days so allow me to talk about one of my favorite food items... Chicken Wings . Who doesn't love chicken wings? Most especially when it's the kind that comes with not one, not two but 15 dips and dry rubs! I first encountered Wingzone back in Singapore where I would visit their Bugis+ branch simply to have their Mozzarella Sticks. This was one of my incentives whenever I go to the doctor at Raffles Hospital. Imagine my shock one day, when I found out that they ran out of mozzarella sticks...and later on the shop closed permanently. Guess they really were just finishing off their last batch of inventory before they closed shop. *sigh* Well, what was Singapore's loss became Manila's gain as Wingzone made its way to our shores! Tucked in at one corner of SM Mega Atrium, Wingzone occupies a very spacious store area that's perfect for big groups to dine in. The main star of their menu is quite obviously the chicken wings  (P...

I still remember the first time I packed my twins' diaper bag. It was for an hour check-up with their pedia and I think I must have brought the entire house with us. I didn't want to take any chances for the possibility of one getting hungry or another having a poop explosion. I brought as much sets of clothes, wash clothes, receiving blankets, cotton balls and swabs, even a bottle of water, a pack of diapers, breast milk in a cooler pack, bottles, colic ointment, bonnet, mittens, booties, the list just went on and on! I think if only my bag could still accommodate, I would also have brought my nursing pillow. As a result, we were painfully carrying our super heavy bag all the way to the doctor's clinic and back. As my twins grew, the contents of their diaper bag has changed too. Gone are the booties, mittens and bonnets which are now replaced by extra bibs, socks and toys. I noticed also that we've become more efficient in packing that at some point, Yaya D even told...

Rise and Shine, Manila! Today will be extra bright and sunshine-y because...the weekend is finally here! This means more hours to do the things we love -- sleep, eat, hang out with friends, spend time with loved ones, catch a movie and more! I know waking up early doesn't really go very well with the ultimate weekend plan but what if it involves indulging in the yummiest, fluffiest pancakes and waffles plus some more delicious dishes? Sounds like a good plan? For those who have been following my blog for a long time, you'd know how much I love love love having brunches. There's really something extra special about this meal which doesn't exactly requires you to wake up at the crack of dawn nor wait till mid-day to eat. It's when you're nearing lunch and yet you can have your favorite breakfast meal without having to explain why you're having it so late. I've never been an early riser and I struggle even more now that sleep has not been part of my voc...

Oh boy, time flies so so so fast! Has it really been 7 long years since my visit to Taipei, Taiwan ? Still, memories of visiting their delicious night markets and indulging in the yummiest street food is still very clear in my memory. I particularly love the Oyster Cake (orh-tsien) as well as this Baked Stuffed Potato that got me so addicted for all 3 days that we were there. Our visit to Taipei was super short and I can't wait to go back! I'm sure my twins will love munching around town with us too. Someday.. someday. Since, my twins are still in the process of enjoying their first taste of solid food, Paul and I can relive our gastronomic Taiwan trip right here in Manila! Finally, I was able to visit Fat Fook Kitchen , which opened a new branch at SM Megamall. I've been wanting to try this out since they opened at SM North EDSA last year but the proximity and my delicate pregnancy just made it really challenging. So, imagine my excitement as I stepped into their SM ...

"To be a Mom." To most women my age, they probably have big ambitions and dreams such as to run their own company, be the CEO in a multi-national corporation, to fly to the moon, to perform at the Carnegie Hall, go to an ivy league school and so on. Growing up, I had my share of dreams too such as to work for the biggest magazine publication company in the country (✓), to travel the world (working on that), to meet the man of my dreams (✓✓✓) and lastly...to be a full-time, hands-on mom. For many years, I've enjoyed a smooth and gradual climb in my career and I'm lucky to have Paul and my family by my side too. However, as the years go by, I can't help but notice that there's one dream left unfulfilled. Clearly, some things were indeed beyond my control and after 7 long (yet happy) years, I am able to put a bold ✓ mark beside the last item in my dream list. This was when my beautiful twins, J and L were born. Motherhood is indeed another ball game. It...

Summer in the Philippines means having to survive the warm weather. We're talking about having temperature in the high 30s with real feel in the 40s. In fact, I'm typing this with two electric fans blowing on my face with warm air coming out. This is the perfect season to cool down with a bowl of ice cream and by that, let me talk about one of my favorite local ice cream brands -- Merry Moo ! I've been a huge fan of Merry Moo  back when they started at Mercato Central . I would always go for their Sea Salt Caramel while manning my own stall then. Just recently, I discovered that they also sell lactation ice cream which were equally as yummy too! This summer, I tried two more flavors -- Scandalously Chocolate  and Avocado . Not together as they taste so different from one another but as a good after meal treat every day. The Scandalously Chocolate  is every chocoholic's dream. Made from 65% dark, single origin pure chocolate from Davao. It has a velvety smoot...

My birthday is still 3 weeks away but it sure does feel like I just received my first ever birthday present this year the day when I received a brand new (and sparkling) oven from De'Longhi Philippines . I couldn't believe it! For more than a decade, we've had our trusty and super heavy duty convection oven that was purchased right after my family moved into our new home. That oven has been with us through all ups and downs. It was our handy appliance as we began baking more after Mommy had a stroke, it was my late night buddy when I was feeling restless and I just wanted to bake to calm my nerves, Papa loved using it to toast his bread and Pan, as some point, even learned to bake some yummy bread too. I remembered how Paul and I would master getting the right temperature to perfect our cheesecakes back when we had our little baking business too. However, the time has come for us to bid our old oven good bye. The temperature has always been so off burning pretty much half o...

There's a new kid in town and we were all so excited to give it a try. Meet Alta by Relik . It's located in Santolan Town Plaza -- a new retail development by the Rockwell Group. While the mall itself is still slowly being filled, Alta by Relik  is located at the outer portion fronting the main road and is right across Starbucks Coffee. I can imagine this place being the newest hangout destination of people in the neighborhood.  During the recent holiday, Paul and I met up with our friends Abet, Joan , Jaz and Eric as well as our kids for lunch to catch-up with one another as it has been a while since we last saw each other. It's so sweet that they all agreed to come to our side of town to check out this new restaurant. Luckily, we got there when the restaurant wasn't that filled allowing the kids to have a lot of space to play around. I honestly never considered this aspect before. However, motherhood has made me more careful in choosing where I take my twins...