Anilao Private Beach House: A quick family getaway

It was a few days before our little sisters birthday and it happens to be a long weekend,so we decided to book a little getaway for some respite and simple celebration. Our dad was luckily arriving to Manila from a seminar in Davao on his way back to the province so we decided to make it a grand Family thing. Brothers family will travel from the province just so we can all be together for the celebration. Its actually our first out of town ALL together. And hopefully the first of many.


So, since our budget is quite tight, we checked for affordable place to stay. Google is such a help at times and read 2 blogs about this wonderful private beach house in Anilao. Luckily, we were able to book it even on a short notice.


The place has no name so its actually tough to look it up. Its a 2 storey house with an attic on an 88 sqm lot. It is very homey. Its beachfront so the sea breeze is abundant :) And there's a pool where the kids swam to their hearts content since the beach had too much stones. Understandably though since Anilao is known for the stony beach.


We got it for 10k for 15pax. There's no specific time for check in and check out but of course will depend on your arrangement with the owner. The house is complete with utensils, stove, ref and water dispenser already. That makes it affordable.


The inconveniences I might note, though, although probably its just me are:
1. parking - its a bit far from the beach house so we cannot check on the vehicles. Its safe though since its not on the side of the road anyway. Parking fee is php75/vehicle
2. alleys - we have to pass through a few houses and narrow alley to get to the beach house. we usually carry a suitcase because of the toddler so its a little difficult.
3. no aircon in the house - since my small one is asthmatic, we like to go to the beach but stay in the aircon room at night to avoid the "hamog"


Overall, the place was very nice, affordable and we would like to go back again. When the asthma gets a little bit better.

DIY Disney Cars Birthday: My Little McQueen's 3rd Birthday

So since it was his 3rd birthday anyway, we decided to have it simple. And since its his first year as a student, we decided to celebrate in his school. At least on his exact birthday.

Given that the trend these days are DIY and out of the box, I decided to make it a bento box kind of birthday. Initially I thought of ordering from either the online kiddie bento box caterers or just from the fastfoods jollibee or mcdonalds. But I have a few dilemmas. The known bento box caterers have beautiful designs although theres a bit of a distance from the nearest pick up point to my kid's school. I worried that the food design will lose the impact after it being transported for quite a while.

AS for the fast foods, there have been negative news about frozen foods lately that I thought better to do away for a while since the party is for toddlers.

That said, I decided to do a DIY bento box. I had to search for a good bento box. I went online but the minimum number of order is 500! I went to Pasig Market but there were no plastic bento box that kind of fits my requirement. I went to DAISO and SAIZEN Robinsons Galeria but still nothing fits. I went to the Department store and then moving to SM Megamall Dept store but nada!

Luckily, i dropped by the supermarket before i went hope and found the suitable bento box for small kids. The morning of the birthday, i prepared my bento box: Spaghetti rice and chicken nuggets milo cereals and 2 trolli cars

The Disney cars cake we got from Goldilocks. Since 9 of his classmates were boys, they got pretty excited with the cake when we put it on the table. The souvenir and the water bottle were all done the night before. Printed the water label in stickers and pasted it to the water we bought from the grocery store.

The loot bags were loot eggs!! My baby loves surprise eggs in youtube. So I decided to make loot eggs just for him. The loot eggs contained: candies, mcqueen notepad, mcqueen paste, macqueen sharpener and of course, hot wheels!!!

It was a delight seeing the boys get all excited opening their loot eggs! the one and only girl in the class, got herself a pink hot wheels! (although from her look, i think she would have been happier with a frozen pencil sharpener and notepad :( )

Anyway, the excited shrieks and screems of my baby said it all. My DIY birthday project was a success!

Summer Getaway 1: Lola's Beach Resort (Aling Tekla) in Laiya, Batangas

So as early as January, we decided to make the most of Summer since: 1. Gio loves to swim 2. Its good for Gio's asthma We had a Tabing Itlog (definition: group of friends from way back 1997 or so) getaway plan already planned during Erich's First Birthday. This was to revisit the resort/beach we frequented when we were just starting. It is in Laiya (San Juan) Batangas. It was formerly known as Aling Tekla. Although it still isn't a big resort unlike many sprouting in the area, it provides the convenience to families who want to enjoy the beach in a budget. From 1 cogon/nipa hut with electric fan way back, there are now about 4 cottages made of cement and with aircon. The cottages go with a nipa hut for eating or drinking :) The Pros: 1. There is no check in and check out time so the stay can actually be enjoyed to the fullest. 2. Beach goers can actually bring their own food or cook their own so there's no drama. The stove in the cottages can be used and the gas is actually free. 3. There is no TV so one can actually just relax, red a book and literally listen to the waves. This may not be a con though for older kids since TV is always a cure for boredom. Gio, my beach baby, was content just playing with the sand and playing with the "poso" (yep the old time poso) til late. 4. Fortunately, the signal is quite good so the gadgets can work just fine for the kids 5. There's a secured parking for the guests. Although limited. 6. Place is near a sari-sari store where you can buy basic stuffs and theres also the talipapa where you can buy fresh catch to cook or bring home. 7. Place is small so there are not much hassle with other guests. Our group reserved 3 of the 4 cottages, so technically, we were the occupied the entire resort. So when the adults chatted the night away in one of the nipa huts just like the old days, there were no complaints. 8. And the place is shady as well, so one can stay in the nipa hut, doze off and its still cool. Hope the management will not decide to cut down the trees in the area. The cons: 1. There is no pool. Some kids want a pool as alternative for when the sun gets too hot. 2. If you are iffy with T&B, this place is not for you. The toilet has no flush. Its de-buhos as we call it. Theres no shower, just the "tabo" (dipper). 3. The rooms are not those that you see in hotels or 3-star resorts. You get what you pay for anyway. 4. There are fees going to Laiya and entering the access road to this resort. I have to say, it doesnt help much in the tourism All in all, if you are looking for a budget friendly place in Laiya (San Juan) Batangas, this is a place you should consider.

been awhile

Its been a year since my last post. And a lot have happened. Just an update, we didn't continue the Developmental program for Gio's speech and nutrition. As a mother, I have conferred with other mothers and i have also read through different articles and I came to a conclusion: 1. I should just let my son go through the natural process of development 2. My paranoia may not necessarily be helpful 3. Exposure to other kids and activities is helpful in a child's development 4. Not pressuring a child keeps away the stress from both parent and child and rather promote bonding. 5. Sometimes TV helps He still not say a complete sentence but good enough for us to understand. Its easier now to converse with him. And he is beginning to eat better but we are still in the level of cutting his meat or veggies is tiny pieces before he tries to chew it. if the cut gets bigger, it'll surely be thrown out. Being the only child and the only child at home, he can be a handful. And he has a heavy hand, he hits people if he dislikes what is being asked of him. So, this we have to work on or else, we might be called to school all the time when he starts school this coming school year. Anyways, we are back and more blogs soon