Suppliers line up

Preparing for a kiddie party has always been a therapy for me co'z I'm fond of conceptualizing all sorts of party especially kiddie birthday party for my kids. I enjoy gathering ideas and looking around for potential suppliers. But, budget will dictate whether you can afford to have an elegant or a simple celebration. It would be very challenging how you can come up with ideas for an elegant yet affordable party with the rising costs of raw materials, creativity and execution is the key to a successful party.

And since we are preparing for a party in September, I have come up with a plan for a simple but fun party for my kids. The following are our would be suppliers:

1.) Venue : Riverfront Residences Clubhouse

Venue would not be a problem for us since our unit is just across the clubhouse. The main function hall is at the second floor of the clubhouse and can accommodate up to 150 guests.

Add: Dr. Sixto Ave., Caniogan, Pasig

Rate: Php 8,000 (resident's rate); plus 2,000 security bond (for non-residents)

2.) Caterer: Kamar Catering Services

A family friend business (we're working on a possible tie-ups) will be catering our party in September. I got a fair price of Php 220/pax for a managed lunch buffet for approximately 70 adults and Php 130/pax for 30 kids (this might increase though...) with complete set up and amenities. Heres our draft for the menu:

Adult Buffet

Beef Kare Kare (all meat no tripe)

Chicken Alexander (in white sauce)

Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet

Crunchy Fish Fillet w/ Tartar Dip

Fresh Lumpiang Ubod

Steamed Rice

Buco Salad

Bottomless Iced Tea

Kids Menu

Spaghetti

Chicken Lollipops

Hotdog on stick w/marshmallow

Doy pack juice

Add: Taguig City

Rate: Buffet rates starts at 220 up

Contact Person: Me (you can contact me for details)

3.) Cakes: Kitchen Krafts

I have been hearing many good feedback from online forums about KK and at last I will have a chance to experience their craft. Every year I try different cake suppliers for my son's birthday cake like Ana Baluyot of icings n' springkles; Yumi Castrillo of yummy piece of cake; and Emily Uy of sugarbox. Since my son wants every detail of pocoyo to be incorporated on his birthday cake, I asked May Santos of KK to make a pocoyo themed cake because they can do whatever design you want. Their design are limitless and you can never go wrong with KK when it comes to themed cakes.

Here are my orders:

Main Cake - 2 layer birthday cake Php 2,960

3D Pocoyo Character on a pedestal and 10" round cake with cookie character toppers in theme.

Mini Cakes - 2 pcs. 4" mini cakes for candle blowing with celebrant's name on it "YANI" and "LUIS" Php 440 each

Cookie Lollies - 35 pcs. character lollies in theme with faces of pocoyo, loula, pato, elly and bulpo. Php 34 each

Rate: Cakes starts at Php 2,000 up; cupcakes @ Php 39 each; lollies @ 34 each; and 4" mini cakes @ Php 440 each

Add: 456 Calbayog St. cor. Samat St., Mandaluyong

Contact Person: May Santos

Contact Numbers: 533.5288; 718.1052; 0917.8349983

Email Add: kakekrafts@yahoo.com

4.) Cupcakes: Iko's Bakeshop

Our friendly neighbor bakeshop with the cheapest price for cupcakes. We uber like their choco moist cakes and cupcakes. Their cupcakes comes with two types of icing (1) marshmallow icing Php 18/pc and (2) fudge icing @ Php 20/pc. I might be getting 50 cupcakes (this isn't final yet)

Add: C. Raymundo Ave., Pasig (near Crossings supermarket)

Email Add: ikosbakeshop@yahoo.com

Contact Number: 409-1197/468-9583

5.) Lechon: Charlie's Pritchon - The Original Pritong Biik

The main star of the buffet! This is our first time to try this unique way of serving lechon in parties and I can't wait for my mouth to touch its crispy skin (yum! yum!). As the name suggest, "pritchon" is a coined word for pritong lechon wrap in pita wedges and served with seven different kinds of sauces.

Rate: Php 5,500 ($120)

Add: 43D Kalayaan Avenue, Quezon City

Website: http://charliespritchon.multiply.com or

http://www.charliespritchon.com

Contact Number: 921-04-05; 426-5501

6.) Host/Magician: Darwin

Getting a good host is very important to make every party fun and lively. Since there are a lot of talented host/magician in this industry, I make it a point to get different host/magician every time we will have a kiddie party because each of them have different repertoire. I immediately booked Darwin as soon as I found out that he is still free on my chosen date. His 3 hours host package are inclusive of games for kids and adults, baloon twisting, advanced magic,ventriloquist with sound system.

Rate: Php 8,000

Website: http://magiciandarwin.multiply.com

Mobile: 0927- 658-85-83

Email: cardcaptor_magician@yahoo.com

YM: cardcaptor_magician

7.) Photographer: Ging Lorenzo

This is my uber favorite party supplier as she have witnessed most of our events in the past (last year lang cya wala :( sayang...) I have known her since 2007 when I booked her for the first time for Luis' Dedication and from then on she was always present in our succeeding parties. She is good at what she does and every click of her camera made our parties look special. I heart Ging! Thanks for the discounted rate!

Rate: Php 7,000 (old rate for labor only package)

Website: http://photosbyging.blogspot.com/

8.) Souvenirs: PartyPipol Photo Booth

I was just looking around the internet trying to find for a nice and practical souvenir. My hubby told me he would be glad if I will get a photo booth for the party. At first, I wasn't considering photo booth for our souvenirs because I find them expensive. But, as I was browsing online I came across PartyPipol's website and found out that they are on a promo until June 30th. Packages are at a discounted price of Php 6,000 for 3 hours unlimited service (while others are priced between Php 9,000 - 14,000).

Rate: Php 6,000 (3 Hours Unlimited)

Website: http://www.partypipol.com/

9.) Tarpaulin and Banner: c/o Ninong Felix

Layout: c/o Hubby

10.) Invites/Balloons/Candles: DIY

That's all for now.

Luis is 4!

Time flies and my eldest have grown so fast. Every year it has been a tradition for us to celebrate his birthday and it makes me so proud whenever I see him showcasing his antics in front of many people. He's a smart boy and he never ceases to amaze people how he speaks his mind (he never ran's out of stories) He would normally approach people and greet them with "good morning" or "good evening" and he always give me flowers after playing outside (he would pick gumamela on his way home)

But of course like any other growing toddler, my son has his fair share of peskiness but we already passed the stage of "terrible twos" and were now dealing with "exploration and experimental stage" I know that he's behavior will continue to change as he grows older but I'm pretty sure he'll be a good and a God fearing child.

This coming September, we will be celebrating his 4th birthday with his most requested party theme: "Pocoyo and Friends" See You!

Sibutramine REDUCTIL® (does it work?)

The demand for weight loss products has increased significantly over the past years. Many brands of slimming pills have sprawled the market in many forms and different packages. For some, finding the best weight loss products can be daunting. I myself have tried different kinds of weight loss products when I was still in college after being on a yo-yo diet for sometime.

Some weight loss products worked for me and some did not. I started taking weight loss pills with high hopes of becoming slimmer than ever. I shed roughly 10-20 pounds and I was at my thinnest at 107 lbs. (and i'm 5'0" flat) But, my weight would go back as I stopped taking slimming pills. And now that I'm a mother to two lovely kids, I gained sooOO much weight from pregnancy and postpartum.

I just gave birth to my youngest last April of this year but, to my surprise my tummy still look like I'm five months pregnant. I was advised by a friend to try Sibutramine REDUCTIL®, a doctor prescribe medicine to treat obesity, as this have worked for her. Sibutramine is being manufactured by Abbott Laboratories under the brand names Reductil, Meridia and Sibutrex.

Reductil is manufactured and distributed locally and is used as part of weight management program for patients with ailmentary obesity. Also for those who have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of > 30 kg/m2 and to those who have obesity-related risk factors such as hypertention,Type II diabetes or dyslipidemia(a disruption in the amount of lipids in the blood).

How does Reductil work?

As I was looking at the box, it says: "Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI)" and "Anti-Obesity". So, what does it mean? SNRI are a class of antidepressant drugs used in the treatment of major depression and other mood disorders. (you can check wikipedia for more medical explanations) It work by inhibiting the reuptake of neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine and results to loss of appetite, weight and sleep. There may be also dryness of mouth(that's why you need to increase your fluid intake), dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, headache, nausea/vomiting, sexual dysfunction and urinary retention.

Reductil comes in 10mg and 15mg capsules and each box contains 14 capsules. The recommended starting dose is 10mg orally once daily in the morning swallowed whole with a glass of water. It can be taken with or without food. If you want to try it you can get these for only php 90 for each capsule at any Watsons or Mercury drug stores nationwide but some would require a prescription before you can buy.

I still have yet to try it but, maybe nextweek. =D

And she was named, Safia Ayanna...

Welcome Safia Ayanna "YANI" C. Alhambra!

Born: April 7, 2010 via CS
Time: 3:58 PM
Height: 50 cm
Weight: 7 lbs. 10oz. (biggie =p)

This is long over due but I felt the need to repost it here because a lot of friends didn't know how Yani came.

Our little princess made her debut with a bang! April 6, I was admitted around 1:30 am and spent 36 hours inside the labor room. With moderate to strong contractions every 5 mins interval.

April 7, around 12 noon - Failed Induction! (tinulugan ko lang ang labor pains hehe =p)
we decided to do a CS operation since yani was already in transverse lie position (oblique) from the original cephalic position as per last ultrasound. Tsk tsk...

@ 3PM, I was brought to DR and after the prep procedures the operation started at around 3:45 PM and the baby was out by 3:58 PM.

@ 4:40 PM, I was brought to RR and stayed for another 7 loooOOng hours! my BP was unstable had elevated BP from 130/90 to 160/100. They had to insert another IV on my right hand (so talagang dapat left and right ang swero!) gave me meds to control my BP.

Finally, I was brought to my room @ 1AM and was closely monitored for the next 48 hrs. No food/water intake for 3 days and got bruised arms from countless BP readings which stressed me out!

This experience was totally different and it was my first major operation...first time to experience a catheter... However, It was worth the wait!

SAVE-THE-DATE

We have released an online save-the-date card and uploaded it in facebook lastweek. This is a two months notice event so that friends and colleagues are aware that we will be throwing out a partee this September.

5th of July

Finally, I got a new spot on the internet once again. I'm saying "once again" because this isn't my first time to blog, not my first blogsite either. I got so busy joggling my precious time between family and work not to mention that I also forgot my login in my previous blog :) I will be posting here anything that I can blab out and everything I care about.