Day 243: Culinary Prize

Guess what was delivered to my doorstep today? The cookbook from Unilever Foodsolutions which I won at an online contest finally arrived! A few weeks ago, I "liked" a fan page on FB and learned a lot more about cooking. At the time, there was an online contest regarding "Your Adobo Story". I decided to submit my entry on Adobong Pusit and a week later, I received a message announcing that I won a copy of "Around the World in 80 Plates". Thanks to my good friend, Caren for hooking me up to So Pinoy Dishes in Facebook. It has truly inspired me to keep on exploring and discovering the culinary artist in me. 

Day 242: The CeeJae Strut

Our little princess loves music so much...whether it's singing or dancing, she seems to always get into the groove whenever she hears music.

Here's CeeJae showing off her cool dance moves...

Day 241: BCBP-Butuan's 14th Anniversary

Despite a hectic week, the Lord has blessed hubby and I with the time and opportunity to help out with the preparations for the 14th anniversary of our BCBP community in Butuan. It was an out-of-town celebration and details on food, the mass and program had to be planned and laid out well.

All in all, everyone had their spirits renewed with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, their tummies filled with scrumptious food and their bodies and minds juggled a bit during the fun games.

It was a wonderful event for brothers and sisters in the community to bond with each other and their families. We look forward to many more of these in the future.

Day 240: A Taste of Heaven

The boxes of Oreo cookies and Pancake batter mix have been sitting on the pantry shelf for a couple of weeks now since I first planned to make a sweet surprise for the family. Knowing how my son, Jarred loves Oreo cookies, it took great effort on his part to resist popping open the box and devouring the goodies all at once. He and his siblings kept on asking when I'll finally make the "goodies". Well, after a tiring week of school activities, I finally had the time to make good my promise to the little ones and my big one. 

This recipe has done its rounds over Facebook for sometime and I was curious to find out if it was really as good as people have been commenting about it...

OREO SURPRISE

1 box Oreo cookies (2 packets)

1 pack instant pancake mix

1/4 cup water or milk

1 1/2 cups canola oil (for deep frying)

Preheat pan then add oil for frying. Prepare pancake batter according to package instructions. For creamier batter, use milk instead of water. Dip each cookie in the batter and when fully coated, drop each one slowly onto the hot oil. Flip when lightly browned on one side and brown the other side. Lift from hot oil right away to prevent burning. Cool for a while. Enjoy while warm.

So, was it a taste of heaven? Well, hubby and I enjoyed it. The first bite was the best one...with the soft dough breaking to let the sweet richness of the melted Oreo explode inside the mouth. One or two morsels would be enough as it was too rich to enjoy too much of. Well, for the kids, I guess having their Oreos and pancakes separately was still a much better idea for them.

Day 239: Celebrating BFCS' 22 years

By the end of a very long and tiring week, everyone was ready to take things slower. Today marked the awarding ceremonies of the SportsFest and Literary-Musical events held earlier in the week. By noon, parents and teachers also had an opportunity to bond over the Luncheon Fellowship. In the end, all kids went home winners, their hearts full of pride and joy.

Day 238: Treasure-Trove of Talent

Every year during the school's Foundation Week celebration, the most awaited event has always been the "Lit-Mus" or Literary Musical Competition. This year was no exception. Everyone was revved up for the different categories. Hours before showtime, students, parents and teachers were scrambling about to prepare for the contest - make-up, costumes and props had their last minute touch-ups.

Right before curtain call, there was a bevy of amazing costumes, animated characters and attractive props. The different groups had to compete in three categories namely, Readers' Theater, Speech Choir and Song Interpretation.

Here is the SUN Team (which my son is a part of) with their Readers' Theater performance that earned them first place...

...and their poignant interpretation of the Newsboys' "Amazing Love" which garnered 2nd place...

Day 237: Sports Fun

Day Two of the week-long Foundation Week festivities rallied the athletes of Butuan Faith Christian School. It was a fun-filled day of sports, games and a whole lot of bonding. The different teams first competed in a quiz followed by games and sports activities. The mommies and guardians weren't spared as they too joined in the fun.

Day 236: Grand Parade

Students, Teachers, Admin and Parents unite to start the celebration with a big bang!

Princes and Princesses with their court

After nearly a month of preparations, the long-awaited school foundation week celebration has finally come. This year, BFCS certainly pulled all the stops - from the very successful fund raising activity (plastic recycling) to the announcement of this year's young Prince and Princesses. 

For me personally, this event has given me the opportunity to help out and support the children and faculty in the different contests. It was also a wonderful venue to meet up and get to know the other parents in the community.

Take a peek at the grand opening salvo...

The fierce warriors - DACTYL Team

The bright and cheery SUN Team

The ever-sparkling  STAR Team

The young scene-stealers - TITANS Team

Day 235: Hero

Growing up, I always looked up to my Dad as my own personal hero. To me, he was invincible, there was nothing he couldn't do. I was always confident that he'll be around to save me from danger and pain. So it wasn't a surprise that from the time I was a teenager, I knew that the man I would eventually marry should be someone just like Daddy. 

Well, that journey of looking for Mr. Right was such a long and arduous one...no one seemed to get past even first base of the requirements. It wasn't until I was well into my very late 20's that I met and eventually married my true hero. Although he wasn't exactly like Daddy, I'd like to believe that I chose someone who was a very close replica of Dad and at the same time, a very well-upgraded version of him. 

Daddy will always be the hero of my childhood and teenage days but hubby is and forever will be my life hero. 

Who's the hero in your life?

Day 234: Girl Power!!!

Not too long ago, there was constant struggle and battle with my eldest daughter during dress up time. She refused to wear anything feminine and opted to strut in jeans or sportswear. For a while, it was devastating for me as I've waited such a long time to spend "kikay" moments with my daughter since for many years before her birth, it was only Kuya Jarred I had to dress from head to foot. Of course, for boys it's a no-brainer...shirt, shorts/jeans, slip-ons or rubber shoes and that's it! 

It took the arrival of another princess in the family to finally awaken the fashion diva in  Atchie Caitlin. Nowadays, dressing up is such a breeze! My big princess now loves to do fashion shows of her different outfits, mixing and matching them up. And with her gorgeous long hair, Mommy can really bring on the kikay power to the max!