Little Madge's First Birthday Treat

Oh Birthdays. Have I told you on my old posts how I love celebrating birthdays? I love the meaning and I really love planning about birthdays. It reminds me how special, fun and exciting life is! :)

Anyway, last November 23, we celebrated my unica hija's first year on earth. Hubby and I decided for a cheap yet fun-filled Jollibee Party experience.

(Jollibee details for Madge's birthday on my last post <click here> and Jollibee rates here).

Madge woke up her usual waking time at 6:00 in the morning. She was of course, at her age, clueless that it was her big day that day. After her hearty breakfast and bath, we all readied for the birthday bash.

Hello Kitty accesories from a not so expensive Hello kitty shop. the necklace was a gift from Fritz's Tito Boy from Australia

Madge's 'for playing' dress, shoes from Enfant, dress from Hello Kitty corner at Sm Dept. Store

Hello Kitty shoes from SM Dept Store, socks from Osh Kosh, dress from lola (she bought it from a baby shop, forgot the name)

At exactly 12:15 at noon, we arrived at Jollibee Pearl Drive located at Fairview, Quezon City. The staff were still fixing the party zone when we arrived and the balloon decors were still not done. We waited for 30mins to enter the room.

Kudos to the staffs, I loved its simple decors. There were Hello Kitty party hats every table. The place wasn't that big that's why they haven't had the chance to put all the lootbags and prizes on the table. The tarpaulin (which was a gift from my highschool friends, Camille and Jude) was only placed on the glass window. But it doesn't matter, the party venue was still perfect for me.

just pretty!! i love..:)

Hello Kitty cupcake towels, gift of my college buddies (Jho, Kringles, Ange, Diane and Mara)

balloon decor and my DIY lootbags (pinks are for girls, colored ones are game prizes)

Hello Kitty Lootbags for girls

did i just say i love these??

Entrance banner from Ninang Michelle

from highschool bff's Camille and Jude

We started the party with a prayer from my brother's mom-in-law.

Tita Marissa,oh and the Birthday girl on the corner with yaya..:) 

guests during the prayer

After the prayer, the hosts called in Jollibee and Mr. Yum! The kids went gaga while the 'special guests' entered the party zone. 

with Jollibee and Mr. Yum 

Jollibee waving... 

dancing Mr. Yum

There were just two games during the party, one for the youngsters, which is the epic, the classic, 'Bring Me', and one for the not so old, which the hosts called as, Maximum-minimum. It's where 2 teams, girls vs. boys, arrange themselves according to height, age, or birthdate. The wacky-bubbly host also made them arrange themselves from the prettiest, then from how many boyfriends they've had. Oh, their waistlines were also measured here, :)

Kuya Iyo won one prize for the 'Bring Me',Jollibee holds his prize

Host saying what to bring him next (sorry his face was sort of..cut..)
and look! the birthday girl is pointing onto something..:)

This baby boy, my bestfriend's son, won like thrice or more.

girls arranging themselves from the prettiest to the not so..

Arranging by height..hehe

by..err..dunno..:)

When the games were done, guests of my baby love munched on their late lunch / early merienda.

Just look how gorgeous Madge's guests were:

from the left: Tita Jane, Tita Mey Anne with son, Carl, Tita She with daughter, Khai, and Ninang Marilyn with nephew, Iyo

Ninang Michelle with niece

Ninang Marilyn with the uber kulet Iyo

they are enjoying the party..:D

Kids..

Tita Melo with son, Cheese

Ninang Yen with niece, Lotty

clockwise: Tita MJ, Ninong Mark, Tita Ven, Tita Melo and son, Ninang Marilyn and nephew

clockwise: ze Birthday girl with ninang Michelle, Ninang Marilynand Kuya Iyo, Tita Kae, Tito Kurt, Jane and Daddy Fritz 

my precious pearl with ate Lotty

BusinessWorld dabarkads

mi familia

ate Dolor, Fritz's cousin's wife, and her kids Zamantha and Zamuel with her Tita.

Dj's (Fritz's cousin) wife Alice with kids Nicka and Mon and yaya wearing yellow

clockwise: my Bestfriend, Miles with her sisters, Caye and Cole and Tita Michelle wearing white

officemate Tone with wife Joy and son Dylan 

My family, Papa, ate wearing red and kuya..mama standing eating her spag

Tita Dolor

Lolo and lola playing with my little angel

Fritz's barkada, Jay, Ryan, Anne and Daryll when their Daughter Zaf

My bestfriend's family, Tita Oni wearing green, and ate Tess on the far left

Big Bro with her daughter, Rica

Parties would never be complete without the singing of the Birthday song to the Birthday celebrant. But before that, the parents would have to state their birthday message to the little girl.

Daddy first..

Then, mommy..

still no smiles from the celebrant..

We sang her the birthday song while daddy..err..Madge blow her candle on her Birthday cake.

Then, we gave the kiddos their giveaways, Hello Kitty lootbags for girls and My Bestfriend Jollibee lootbags for boys. I also added lootbags filled with candies.

Add caption

pila to get their giveaways

There's still one more surprise for the kiddos, I readied a Pinata full of candies for them.

I was helping Madge pull the thread yet it turned out she doesn't need some help..:D

Now, let's view her gifts..

Before the party ended, the hosts randomly open Madge's gifts, which i find super funny because many guests wouldn't want their gifts to be opened in front of everybody. hehe. Jollibee even gave Madge his birthday message for her.

I can say that the party was a successful one, Jollibee Pearl Drive's staffs were really fun and accommodating. The place maybe small but it fits all my guests. Kudos to my party host which was very energetic, to my party organizer who's really there to lend a helping hand and to the one assigned to the food. My apologies to my guests for the late serving of foods thus making them hungry, I didn't realize the staffs were waiting for my signal to start.

The only downside of the party is my little princess not smiling the whole party. She wasn't in the mood and would only want to be carried by her yaya and play with her balloon..:(

Let's see how 'not in the mood' little Madge was:

sitting on her throne..no smiles..

playing with lola

still not smiling

err...no smiles

what did daddy do to make you look at him like that baby love? hmm..:) 

malapit na sana magsmile, pero fail pa rin e!

taray!

complaining about something my pearl?

munching her fries

My baby love's first birthday checklist (sort of?) ..:)

Yes, it has been almost a year since I delivered the dearest, loveliest being I have ever seen. Time really flies fast and reality saddens me...my little pearl is growing up so fast! So, though we are budget constraint this year, I made sure Madge will have the best on her first birthday celebration.

My original plan was to have a pool party with clowns and magicians, a face painter, a photobooth candy buffet, and a catered food fit for my guests. But since, again, we are budget constraint, I erased these plans and settled for a Jollibee Party. (check Jollibee Party here)

I reserved 3 months early for the 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. slot for my cutest angel on November 23, 2013. Her birthdate is Nov.19 and it falls on a weekday, that's why hubby and I decided to have the party on a Saturday so many guests can party with us.

Hubby and I decided to have a party at Jollibee for the kids, and a house party for the inuman for our kumares and kumpares. We spared 15,000 for Jollibee Kid's party and another 5,000 for the house handaan.

For the children's Party at Jollibee, I assumed 70 guests to come, 40 adults and 30 kiddos. By the way, its so easy to check the rates for your budget on their website. I had Hello Kitty as our party theme. We had to pay 1,250 for the party fee which includes Jollibee mascot's appearance, 20 game prizes, 10 boxes of crayons, 30 balloons, and a message board. I added 50 sets of Hello Kitty goodies which includes a party hat, an invitation and trayliner. I also added 20 Hello Kitty lootbags for the girls and 15 My Bestfriend Jollibee lootbags for the boys. 

Then, for the food, I chose Package C for the kids (yum burger, spaghetti, reg. fries, reg. drinks and sundae), and chicken and spaghetti value meal for the adults. (I am assuming they would be ordering extra rice on the party, so I will be expecting additionals for the payment. hehe)

And, for a hassle free order, I just ordered a 12x12 Hello Kitty Themed cake from Jollibee made by their sister company, RedRibbon. Actually I wanted to have a different cake provider but they do not allow food from other stores. 

I also availed of their P1,800 Balloon Decor with a Hello Kitty theme. (2 6 ft Pillars, 2 3ft Pillars, 1 2ft pillar, all with a Hello Kitty Mylar Balloon on top)

Here's my sample online computation:

Jollibee Kiddie Party is indeed cheap yet it doesn't compromise the quality of the party. (that's how my friends describe them)

For the additionals, I asked my college friends to sponsor the giveaways. Actually I asked my close friends to just sponsor something for the partyas their gifts. hehe. Smart ei?

I asked my partner, Mich to layout and print a 3x6 tarp for the entrance, my highschool bestfriends sponsored the 5x4 tarpaulin and a friend fromouter space,(hehehe), also named Michelle gave a thousand bucks for the lootbag candies.

Everything's all set for Saturday!! :)

Just a week ago.. (Nightmare while I'm awake)

A week ago, my baby Madge had to be confined in the hospital because of some stomach infection (gastroenteritis). At 10 months old, she had to be injected with dextrose to prevent dehydration. She suffered from vomiting and later on, fever. A day after she was admitted, she had a fever convulsion, or  kombulsyon in tagalog. It's a seizure which occurs when a person has a high fever.

During those time, I didn't know what to do, it's safe to say I was hysterical and my mind was literally blocked. I just screamed for the doctor and nurses because my baby's lip color was turning purple. It scared the hell out of me and the only thing that entered my mind was I might lose my little angel. After an hour of tension with the doctor and the nurses, and after giving her a cold sponge bath, her temperature went down from 39 degrees celsius to 37.6.

I never want this to happen ever again so after being discharged in the hospital I made it clear to everyone in the house not to let her eat anything but fruits and baby foods. :)

I thank the Lord and the doctors and nurses who never fail to check her often.

She's one tough baby, didn't cry much after the IV was inserted, and didn't even minded the blood test when the needle was injected.

De-stressing on a weekend with friends @ Oasis Paco park Hotel

Just last September 14, I had the chance to de-stress myself from work and mommy duties overnight. With work colleagues, we decided to spend an overnight stay @ Oasis Paco Park Hotel courtesy of the 80% off gift certificate from the office. From like, 5,000.00 worth of 1 deluxe room for 2 with breakfast, the GC was cut down to 1,000.00. We got 2 GC's since we're 5 in the group.

It's been a while since we spent our last vacation together. So, when we had the chance to have a staycation at a very affordable and friendly price, we didn't hesitate to grab it.

Oasis park Hotel is a Boutique hotel located at Belen St., Paco Manila, just across Paco Park. Upon our arrival, we were greeted warmly by the receptionist and was accompanied by a room attendant to our designated rooms. Yen and I checked in first due to some reasons. And we had the privilege to check out the rooms first.

The fine dine @ My Kitchen's by Chef Chris (hotel's resto)

ze pool

hallway just outside our rooms

cabinet and mini ref

queen sized bed

toilet and bathroom with complete toiletries and hot and cold shower

sofas inside the room

 Since we were there first and we had to wait for the others, we had our photo opportunity. :D

After hours of waiting, Kim, Mich and ate marilyn finally arrived. What we did first? Eat of course!! Since we do not have the luxury to eat at the hotel resto, we all agreed to buy Andok's chicken, bring our own rice, and have a pizza delivered for our dinner. We also had junkfoods and soda to complete the bonding staycation. 

Add caption

yen, ate marilyn. the author, mich and kim

while having the chismisan

at the hotel resto

After our chikahan to the max, we all decided to rest, 'cuz we will be trying the pool early the next morning.

I am used to wake up at 5am because I had to feed my baby her milk. So, when the clock struck 5, my room mates ate marilyn and Mich were already up. I waited until 6 before I wake the girls in the other room. At around 7am we are all set for breakfast. 

The Kitchen by Chef Chris offers a variety of breakfast plate. From what I recall, they serve Filipino breakfasts, such as tocino and tapa and Western cuisine (breakfast) like bacon, ham steak and sausages served with egg, harvested potato (which taste and look a little like hash brown) and drinks. We are to choose from hot tea or coffee and Orange Juice or Mango Juice to complete the hearty breakfast.

tocino with rice, achara and scrambled egg

bacon, harvested potato and 2 scrambled eggs (mi plate.. :)  )

ham steak with sunny side up eg, rice and potato on the side

sausage, eggs and potato

before munching in

After our breakfast, we readied for a little dip. We didn't stay long in the pool since we had to check out at 12noon. But we enjoyed our dip because we were the only guests in the pool that time. I like their pool, the water is clean and well maintained, plus it doesn't have strong chlorine like the other pools I have tried. Perfect for little Madge. :)

friend forever ang peg

The gurls had loads of kwentos and that is what i really missed from them. We had lots of laughs and I can say we had maximized our bonding time. I am so glad I still had the chance to cope and come with them though I already have different priorities now.

About the hotel:

Our stay was great, the staffs were accommodating, especially ate waitress from 'The Kitchen'. Receptionists were ok, they smile and are accommodating, oh the guard/s too. :)
All in all? If I would have the chance to stay here, I gladly will, with easy access to the main street, good wifi connection and clean surroundings Im sure many of you would want to.
:)