September is the time for my little man (Mr Adventurous) to have his much awaited Birthday Party, this time he turned 5! My goodness…I still remember when I use to sniff his baby feet and they smell like fresh milk, and now most of the time after playing out under the sun, he smells like fermenting vinegar=) As usual, Cusinera and Mr. H prepped a typical Filipino Buffet but this time with a sweet twist that is new to our normal foodie feast.
For our Media Noche (New Year’s Midnight Meal), Mr. H and I wanted something “pika-pika” style (Filipino slang for finger foods or small bite size snacks). Seafood makes great finger foods so we opted for that and just in case the little ones doesn’t want to touch the seafood, we have cooked Pancit Bihon and Pork BBQ sticks for them.
Finally, I got the time now to sit down after 5 hours of hovering around the kitchen, it took that long for this simple Christmas dinner menu that I’ve planned for today as it included a never ending photo session while prepping and cooking. My stovetop at the moment is busted, freaky really….when you turn “on” one, the top right turns “on” too even though its knob is off. I have to endure cooking in a portable electric stove that takes ages to heat up. I’ve also triggered the smoke alarms in our house several times while roasting the chickens, Mr. Adventurous and Miss M took turns waving tea towels to get rid of the smoke….hehehehehe!
Last night was the Tribe’s First Halloween Bash and it went really ghoulishly good! We invited a small group of Witches, Draculas and other night freaks with multi coloured hairs. Mr. H set up our projector to screen “Hocus Pocus” for our little scary guests viewing pleasure. It was a fun night at the Tribe’s spooky garage, when the movie finished, the little critters got their buckets filled to the brim with lollies/candies before they went home.
Mr. Adventurous celebrated his 4th Birthday a couple of weeks ago, and time flies so fast… my once chubby baby with rosy plump cheeks is now a little man, bursting with energy and eager to do things in his own little way. He tries to wiggle his way out whenever I gather him in my arms and shower him with kisses but still sleeps in his little bed next to ours holding my hand. From the moment he’s wide awake in the morning till he fall asleep at night, he won’t sit still even for a minute except of course if he finds the DVD movie currently playing engrossing! He’s the self appointed noisy maker in the TRIBE….full of imagination and mischief and Mr. H have to admit, Mr. Adventurous got it from me but 2x up the notch.
First week of June was when we celebrated Mr. H’s Birthday. Two weeks before as I was starting to prep for the Barrio Fiesta Adventure, he made quite a few “lambing” hints that he wants a small party for his birthday as his age got a “0” in the end now. Cusinera and Mr. H hardly held parties for our special days as we tend to celebrate Miss M and Mr. Adventurous birthdays in massive cook fest every year. On our two special days plus our anniversary most of the time every year we either go out or just buy a cake and cook pancit for that night. As for presents, we do that the whole year round, things we really, “Really” (that’s with capital R) like! I’m not a flower person… it dies, give me a spatula, a chef’s knife or even cupcake liners and I will really adore them. Mr. H on the other hand have a different taste….bit expensive, mind you! Michael Jordan shoes… you will see twinkle in his eyes!!!! I bet if he was offered the entire collection of Jordan shoes, he’ll trade me for the set, LOL!
You must be wondering how the TRIBE celebrated 2010 Valentine’s Day? See, I said “TRIBE” not Cusinera and Mr. H, we don’t do candlelight dinners~holding each other hands and gazing at each other’s eyes, or me receiving bunches of flowers anymore……I put a stop to it when Miss M reached 3 years old, you know why? Flowers are expensive and they die, I prefer something practical, like cookbooks that I really want (you should see my eyes light up like New Year’s Eve fireworks). Even a large mixing bowl will make my day! Gosh, I’m so easy to please! Candlelight dinners is a bit of a hazard, with Mr. Adventurous around and the ambiance would be to serious for Mr. H and I, we would be giggling and poking each other too much. With the issue of holding each other hands…we do that everyday and lots of hugs too, to the point of having a major overdose. Come to think of it, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, everyday….
This Valentine’s Day, I was planning to cook some heart shaped pasta from ALDI but when we went there last Thursday, they didn’t have it. Instead of a simple pasta dish, we ended up with these….
December 2009 just went by like a blur for me, I was planning to feature most of the SILOGS by the end of December but it didn’t happen. From hanging decorations, buying and wrapping gifts, going out (a lot!), eating (a lot!) and cooking (a lot!). Almost forgot….squeezing in cleaning the house from top to bottom before New Year (family tradition), so that positive energy can flow easily inside the house, left me grasping for time. We even put loose change in every corner of the house for luck and prosperity….I know, I know…typical Filipinos! So many beliefs for luck and getting rich. Isn’t silly, Filipinos are religious but we believe in this kind of things. To me, if it doesn’t harm anybody…why not???
