Mother's Day Lunch At Pamana Restaurant

Today was more of a spur of a moment thing. But having been burnt out at work for weeks now, I have been wanting (and needing) a reprieve (from the house, from the sight of my computer) even for just a few hours.

So even if the kids have been very vocal about hating commuting of late, they all agreed to give me some slack today and allowed me to finally embrace the reprieve that I've been yearning even if just briefly. We decided, albeit at the last minute, to head off to Tagaytay to celebrate mother's day. Last year, we also spent mother's day there at Bag of Beans. And since my nephew is vacationing with us as well, it would be nice to bring him up there as well too. Maia was excited to show him the place where Mommy and Daddy got married.

The plan was - hear mass and eat. And maybe visit a few sites if time would permit. Tibs did warn me though - manage my expectations. It's warm in Tagaytay now. And yes, the temperature didn't give us much options when we got there. After hearing the 11am mass in Lourdes, we walked a few meters towards Pamana Restaurant and that's about how we burned our time in Tagaytay.

No regrets though. I still was happy to "escape". And I finally made time to buy those plants that I've been asked to buy for my team's work area. (Kind of defied my purpose of escaping the thought of work, but at least I had a change of scenery. Which was enough for now, at least).

On Pamana Restaurant:

We ordered what we feel is just the appropriate thing to order when you're in Tagaytay - Bulalo and Crispy Tawilis. Tibs is a big fan of Binagoongang Baboy so we also tried that. We ordered their ube halohalo for Gogol and Sago't Gulaman for everyone else.

The Bulalo serving was too large for us. We should have just ordered small or medium and we still won't feel it's "bitin". We had leftovers for everything and it was good enough for another meal (yes, we had the same thing for dinner).

Price-wise we wished there were more of us to share, then the close to P2,000 bill wouldn't have really mattered. But sadly we were just a group of 3 adults and 2 kids who only devoured the cold desserts. Safe to probably budget at around 300/head if you are with the company of purely adults.

The restaurant is kid-friendly and on a Sunday, we just came at a perfect time (at around 11:30ish) because a few minutes after that hungry diners came rushing. We picked a table at the rooftop. We had a great view of Taal and it was pretty breezy considering the ultra hot summer temp. They could work on providing more toilets though because it really was a long line we had to endure just to get bladder relief. If you're with kids, that could be a really difficult situation to be in.

A Field Trip To The Fun Farm At Sta Elena

Two simple, home-spent  long weekends have since gone. Simple. Home. Two of my most favorite words. I can never get enough of lazy days spent at home. But then I have to deal with a kid who easily contracts cabin fever and all that lazy, relaxing thought immediately disappears. A restless kid is the last thing you'd ever want to deal with during a relaxing weekend. And so rare invites for field trips are also some of the things that we welcome with big wide open arms. 

And that's just exactly how we spent the last day of the last long weekend of this quarter. We went with 3 other family friends (actually mommy friends who I first met in N@W and eventually became close to through blogging-Rache, Erl and Maqui) to a fun-filled day trip to the Fun Farm At Sta Elena in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Thank you Maqui for organizing this!

If not for the quite pricey entrance fee of P300 per person, we would love to come back to this place. (But...this family is such a cheapskate I don't think we will be coming back anytime soon). The kids had fun running around and there were enough distractions to last them a full day. The fishing pond and the sand playing area were a big hit for the little miss, most especially. When she woke up this morning, she was still raving about it. I bet she would have bragged about it even to her school busmates. She was THAT happy with how her day went yesterday. She got to ride and pet a carabao, chase sheeps, play spider-woman, feed worms to fishes, feed pellets to duckies, feed the bunnies some carrots, sing along with pigs (oink-oink!) and squeal her heart out while riding the rubber swings. There's plenty to do but I only have a few photos to show. 

Still, I'll let the pictures talk from this point. Forgive the poor resolution as I still haven't found Blue's replacement and I just used my phone camera. 

at the entrance

one of Maia's favorite spots in the farm. she was ready for this. she even bought her beach toys with her.

obstacle courses for kids. tingnan natin hanggang san aabot lakas ng mga malilikot na yan! lolz.

interesting maze. Maia didn't hesitate to get in. and did not have any trouble coming out of it. atta girl!

Maia: I'm going to try this too Daddy. Tibs: Mahirap to Maia, wag na baka di mo kayanin, walang support sa gitna.
Maia: Okay lang Daddy, gagapang na lang ako! 

And more interesting spots on the farm:

Maia and Kelsea getting fishing tips from the Daddies. Waha (kala mo experts eh)

close encounter with sheeps (maia: mameeeeeeeeee, kelangan nila maligo!)

It was a tiring day but hearing the kid rave about the fun of it all seems all worth it. Till the next fieldtrip, Mommies! Can't wait to see the photos from Studio 2716 as well!

p.s. The Fun Farm staff advises that you book ahead before coming as there might be events (i.e. weddings or private parties) booked at the Fun Farm that day and you might be denied entrance. For this trip we booked a week ahead since ours is a relatively big group of 4 families and we were coming on a holiday.

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Fun Farm at Santa Elena is located at Sta Elena Properties Inc, Barrio Malitlit, Sta Rosa, Laguna

They operate from 9am to 5pm. Contact Numbers: 0918 8886588/0920 9131349 Directions to the farm are posted here. 

p.s. Here's a link to the photo album that the Studio 2716 posted in Facebook.  And to Maqui's and Erl's blog post as well.

First Official Out of Town Trip

Hello Maia,

Today Mom and Dad took you to Tagaytay. Mommy Ninang, Daddy Ninong, Tito Iko and Kika Mao was with us for this trip. It's your first official out of town trip and we could tell you had fun. Your eyes would light up each time something new to your eyes catches your attention. Mommy love it when you would open your big eyes and giggle. You would wiggle your head and laugh in delight. Your laughter's is music to Mommy's ears.

I do wish we can make this a weekend affair. The fresh air would do you good. And there's just so much to see outside of our house. But I guess, your little body can't take frequent trips like that yet. Maybe when you're a lot older we can make that a regular family affair already. I feel so much excitement just thinking about it.

When we got home you were a little fussy though. I guess it's the congestion on your tiny little nose. That has been going on since you woke up early this morning. Mommy got a bit worried. She decided she's taking you to the doctor tomorrow just to be sure.

All in all though, the weekend was a good one for the three of us.